Of Fairies and Fraternities
by nalunatics
Summary: It's Lucy's first semester at Magnolia University, leading college in the arts of magic. She's looking for a fresh start and new friends. Lucy thought that college would be about getting an education, but no one prepared her for the fraternity, Fairy Tail. More importantly, no one prepared her for WHO was in Fairy Tail.
1. Welcome to Magnolia University!

"Okay, Lucy, just relax, it's no big deal. After all, you were homeschooled your whole life, it's not like that's weird or anything." Lucy muttered grumpily to herself as she struggled to get her bags up the steep stairs of her new home. "And apparently there are no elevators in this forsaken place!"

"Princess, would you like some assistance?" A voice from behind her made Lucy jump and she turned to see that Virgo had materialized from the Spirit World using her own magic.

"Ah! Virgo, don't just pop up like that, that scared me!" Lucy gasped almost losing her grip on one of her suitcases.

"Do I receive punishment now?" Virgo cocked her head slightly and Lucy sighed, ignoring her request.

"Actually, that would be great if you could help. This stuff is really heavy." Lucy admitted and the two girls hauled Lucy's luggage up to the top floor where, unfortunately, Lucy was staying. "I guess I'm in room 313… What luck." Lucy scowled at the 'thirteen' that marked the end of the number. Finally, they made it too a door that had 313 nailed to the front of it. Lower down on the door was a whiteboard where _Levy_ was written in neat script on half of it. The other half made Lucy smile, whoever Levy was, she had written _Lucy_ in equally neat script. Little doodles of flowers and hearts dotted the board; it made Lucy feel a little more at ease.

"Here I go, I guess." Lucy shrugged at Virgo who simply blinked and watched Lucy place a few light wraps on the door. Shortly after that, the door swung open to reveal a short, small girl with blue hair. She wore a bright smile and had warm features, beckoning Lucy in and greeting her with a happy, "Hi!".

"H-hey, I'm Lucy, am I in the right room?" Lucy asked tentatively and Levy's head bobbed in confirmation.

"If you're Lucy Heart..filia, is it? Then yep, you're in the right room! Oh, I'm Levy McGarden by the way, sorry!" She quickly held out her hand and shook Lucy's. "I suppose we are roommates, yeah?" Lucy smiled, something about this girl made her feel right at home, well, something of what a home should feel like.

"Great, yeah, I guess we are! Sorry, I think I'm a bit late… It was just me dragging all my stuff here until Virgo helped me." Lucy apologized and gestured to the pink haired maid.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I would have helped if I had known!" Levy yelped as if it were her fault personally.

"Don't worry about it! You wouldn't have known. Thank you so much, Virgo, I appreciate it." Lucy turned and quickly thanked her spirit.

"Anything for you, Princess." Virgo bowed and then vanished back to the Spirit World.

"Whoa!" Levy exclaimed, "Where'd she go?" Lucy was surprised, wouldn't it be obvious that Virgo was a spirit? _Right, I forgot, Celestial Wizards are pretty scarce now, aren't they?_

"O-oh, Virgo is a celestial spirit. I'm a Celestial Wizard." Lucy stated a little proudly and Levy eyed her in amazement.

"That's so cool! I've never met a real Celestial Wizard before, but I've read a ton about them! So, do you have any other zodiac keys?" Levy gushed in excitement; Lucy guess from her intrigue that Levy knew a bit about her type of magic.

"Yes, actually… I have ten of them." Lucy confessed sheepishly and Levy's eyes bugged out.

" _Ten_? B-but those are so rare! You must be a strong wizard! Wow, you're amazing, please promise me to show me more of you spirits later, okay?" Levy begged and Lucy smiled broadly.

"Sure, sure. So, what kind of magic do you use?" Lucy inquired and Levy smiled at her slightly.

"I use Solid Script magic. I take words and create whatever they are into something real. Like, here-" Levy held out her palm wide and said, "Solid script, _flower_!" As she uttered the words, _flower_ materialized. Foliage and bright blooms sprouted from the little word object in her hand, swaying slightly with Levy's movements.

"That's amazing! I think I remember reading about them somewhere, perhaps in one of my Mother's books…" Lucy pondered.

"Oh, do you like reading?" Levy questioned.

"I love to read and write. I'm actually an English major… And I'm minoring in writing. What about you?"

"Oh wow, that's great! I'm an English major as well, maybe we'll have some classes together! I'm not sure if you knew this, but we have to double major in magic because this is a wizarding school. I know it certainly surprised me, but I guess that's why some people don't take on another major until later in their college career." Levy informed her.

"Yeah, I did see that. I don't mind really, it'll keep me busy, and I'm actually really excited about learning more about magic! I was only ever taught at home…" Lucy sighed. "This is actually the first school I've ever actually attended. Don't think I'm weird." Lucy chuckled lightly.

"Not at all, don't be silly! I grew up in an orphanage, actually, a lot of the kids that I grew up with are here. We all decided to come here. It's the leading school for the art of magic in the area anyways, and we all wanted to stick together, you know?" Lucy eyed Levy admiringly. _Here I am complaining about my life and there are so many amazing people here… I'm living with one…_

"That's really great of you guys." Lucy murmured.

"Well, anyways, you're coming here mid semester, you don't need to tell me why or anything, but I'll be happy to help you with any work you have." Levy offered and Lucy smiled appreciatively.

"Thank you, Levy. Actually, I don't mind telling you. I've been homeschooled for as long as I can remember, and I wanted to go on to some form of higher education. My dad didn't really want me to go, so I figured I'd try again next year, but… My father died this past summer, unfortunately. I'm just following my mother's wishes, I of course wanted to come here." Lucy explained.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry…" Levy gasped. "How are you and your mother holding up?" Lucy smiled sadly, even though her mother had been gone for a long time, it still stung to say it out loud.

"She passed away when I was three. So, it's just me, and my caretakers back at home, of course." Lucy sighed wistfully and then suddenly felt Levy quickly wrap her arms around her shoulders.

"Please let me show you around. Come meet everyone, if that's okay? I think everyone will love you, and you'll fit right in with us." Levy blinked rapidly a few times and then smiled brightly at Lucy.

"Th-that would be great." Lucy stammered. _I can't believe it, I've been here for under an hour and I already have my first friend! Maybe it won't be so bad here, maybe everything will start working out for me…_

"Well, let's get you settled in! Magnolia University welcomes you, Lucy Heartfilia!"


	2. The Fairies

_Ugh, I'm exhausted…_ It had taken most of what was left of the day to set up her half of the small room she shared with Levy, and Lucy was tired. Levy had helped where she could and, in Lucy's opinion, she had really hit the jackpot when it comes to roommates. Lucy was definitely looking forward to the rest of the year with the tiny Solid Script mage.

"Hey, Lucy? How about I show you around campus tomorrow? We don't need to rush to do anything if you just want to rest, but I think you'll really like it here in Magnolia." Levy smiled at her from where she was lounging on her bed.

"No, that sounds great! I really appreciate you helping me and everything, Levy." Lucy smiled back, and Levy beamed.

"It's no problem! I'm happy to have you as a roommate, you seem really great. I think we'll have a good time and be great friends!"

"You too, Levy. I think we will have a great time; I'm really looking forward to this whole experience! I'm excited about having some time to write my novel too." Lucy confessed.

"Oh, wow, you're writing a book? You really are amazing! Hey, can I read what you have some time?" Levy eyed her eagerly and Lucy was a little taken aback. She had never let anyone read her novel before.

"O-okay, sure. I suppose I could you some feedback anyways!"

"Great, thanks Lu!" Levy exclaimed, snuggling down into her blankets. Lucy was really enjoying her first day at Magnolia University and having Levy as her roommate, and she certainly was enjoying the fact that she had her very first nickname from a friend: _Lu_.

"Alright, this is the main area where people like to just come to hangout, it's called the _quad_. Sometimes they'll hold small events, like fundraisers for clubs and stuff here, but mostly it's where people come when they have time in between classes. Occasionally you'll see some of those douchey guys playing a guitar and singing on a bench though." Levy snickered and Lucy couldn't help but let out a giggle. "Up there," Levy pointed to the left of where they were standing in the middle of the quad, "Is the library, I spend most of my time there, I can't help it. But they have a really cute café in there; it's really peaceful to go grab a tea and do some work." Levy informed her and Lucy noted the café as somewhere she'd definitely be spending some of her time in.

"So… Most of the dorms are where we are?" Lucy mused as she didn't see any other halls around.

"Yeah, kind of. We're in the biggest co-ed dorm on campus, Fiore Hall, but on the other side of campus there are a few dorms. But yeah, our area has mostly all of them. It's a bit of a walk to campus, but you'll get into a routine and it will get easier."

"Okay, that's cool. Are you friends in our hall?"

"Yeah, most of them are. I think we got a little bit of special treatment since the dean of the school was also the guy who raised us in the orphanage." Levy giggled and Lucy raised her brows.

"Really? That's really convenient, he sounds like a great guy."

"Yeah, he really is. I'll have you meet him some time, his name is Makarov Dreyar, or some of us call him 'Gramps'." Levy told her and Lucy couldn't help but smile.

"That sounds great. Wow, there really is a lot here to see… I hope that I can learn everything and remember everyone." Lucy fretted slightly and Levy laughed lightly.

"Don't worry, it won't be as overwhelming as you think. Anyways, right here is Fairglass Hall; this is where all the science people go, you may need to take a couple classes here to fulfil some university requirements." Levy pointed to a sustainable looking building with solar panels dotting the roof, and large glass windows wrapped around the circular building reflecting the sun and anyone who passed by it. "Over here is where we will be spending most of our time; this is the English building, Foxwick Hall." Lucy took in the rather average looking building, but was nonetheless excited to be spending her time there.

"I'll show you more of the buildings tomorrow, you'll have to show me your schedule so I know where you're going, but I really want you to meet everyone if that's okay? We had planned on hanging out today anyways, how does that sound?" Levy asked.

"Oh, of course!"

"Oh, Lucy, have you heard of fraternities and sororities before?" Levy asked tentatively and Lucy shrugged.

"I think I've heard about them a bit, aren't they just groups formed by students?"

"More or less. Well, anyways, fraternities are for the guys and sororities are for the girls. Sometimes they can be pretty pretentious, but… Well, the guys I grew up with formed their own fraternity. It's called Fairy Tail, anyway, what I'm getting at is they have a sister sorority and all of us girls are part of it. It's called the Fairy Girls. Now, you don't have to make your decision now, but we'd love to have you if you want to join? We have parties, banquets, and balls. We're both really close and do a lot of stuff to help each other out, it's really fun!" Levy explained and Lucy had to admit it sounded interesting. _It certainly would be something to do in my down time._

"Are you sure that everyone else would have me...? I'm not sure they'll even like me." Lucy chuckled nervously and Levy scowled.

"Of _course_ they'll like you! Don't be silly. C'mon, let's go to the house then."

"The _house_?" Lucy questioned confusedly.

"Oh, sorry, the frat house. It's where the older members live and where we have most of our events. The girls' house is right next door so it's really convenient!" Levy skipped along, leading Lucy down the sidewalk that was along the main road. "Next year we'll be able to live in the sorority house if we want to." They made their way down the road for a short while and then Levy took a right where two old, but grand houses stood proudly.

"Wow, looks like you guys have a prime set up, no?" Lucy commented and Levy looked at the buildings proudly.

"Yeah, you could say that. Forget about the dorm, really, this is our home. The orphans that is." Levy sighed and stopped briefly to take in the site.

"Well… You guys seem to have something really special here, I'm not really sure that I'd fit in, you know? I wasn't part of your orphanage, and from the sounds of it they members are mainly from where you grew up." Lucy said hesitantly.

"It's true that most of our members are from the orphanage, actually, I don't remember someone ever even coming to join Fairy Tail of Fairy Girls. We have a little bit of a reputation…" Levy giggled slightly and Lucy eyed her suspiciously. "But if you are okay with that and can keep up with our crazy members, I think you'll do just fine! And, stop me if I'm overstepping my boundaries, but I don't want you to feel lonely. Not that you are, I just, I don't know, I'd like to have you as a friend too, okay?" Levy wrung her hands together nervously and gazed up at Lucy. Sure, Levy was a little forward with everything, especially seeing as this was only Lucy's _second_ day at Magnolia University, but Lucy couldn't help feeling utterly touched by the girl. Lucy hadn't felt at home ever since her mother died, and here, she was finally starting to feel like she had a place, somewhere to look forward to, to be with _people_ she looked forward to being with.

"A house isn't a home, people are." Lucy blurted out sounding rather cliché, and Levy looked at her in mild confusion, "That's what my mom used to say. At least that's what I was told, my caretakers would always say that to me, I think it was to keep me grounded." Lucy chuckled slightly. "But it really holds some meaning to me. What I mean is, I never really felt at _home_ in my house, it was filled with emptiness. People are what make you feel at home and, for the first time in a long time, I actually feel at home here with you, Levy. You've welcomed me so warmly, and it's only my second day, but I just feel so… So, at _home_. Does that make sense?" Lucy glanced back over to Levy you had tears spilling over her cheeks.

"Oh, Lu! I don't know what to say… I-I know what you mean. The people here, they may be rough around the edges, but they are _my_ home. And we can all be your home too, if you'd like. I'm so happy you feel this way!" Levy grasped Lucy's hands tightly, and Lucy couldn't help holding back her own tears. This place was filled with broken people who pieced each other back together; this was just where she needed to be.

"Alright, let's go in, okay? Everyone should already be there; I can't wait for you to meet everyone!" Levy cheered and dragged Lucy towards the building that had "Fairy Girls" in old, steel script. "I'm going to have you meet the girls first, I mean after all we _are_ the better house!" Levy giggled. "But the boys can be… I bit much at times, but Erza usually takes care of it if they get too rowdy."

"Who's Erza?" Lucy questioned as they walked up the steps of the porch.

"She's the 'House Mom' which is basically like the head of our sorority. She decides if a pledge can join and who would be a new member's 'big'." Levy explained, but Lucy came out of it feeling even more confused.

"Er… A 'pledge' and a 'big'? What's that?" Lucy asked feeling embarrassed.

"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it, it's all kind of stupid labels for stuff that doesn't necessarily need to be labeled that way. Let me give you a brief run down: you know what a House Mom is now, that's Erza. A pledge is someone who has received a bid from a member of a sorority or a fraternity. A bid is like an invitation now, if a pledge is picked to join, after going through an initiation period, then they become, respectively, a sister or a brother in a sorority or fraternity. So, if you are accepted into Fairy Girls, you'd become our sister. A new member, you, is given a 'big' and you would be referred to as a 'little'. A big is an older member that kind of takes care of and guides the little through her first experiences in the life of a sorority. So, Erza will pick who your big is, but you're probably going to have to go through our initiation ceremony. Sorry, that's a secret, I can't tell you what we do!" Levy winked at her and continued, "Anyways, there are other things like formals and mixers, but you don't need to worry about those now, we haven't even had any yet. Does this kind of make sense?" Lucy stood there taking it all in for a moment and then slowly nodded her head.

"Y-yeah, I think so. So, I still have to get accepted, I can't just become a new member?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, I can almost guarantee you'll be accepted. Anyways, I give you my bid so you're officially a pledge! No one's really going to argue it, we're not _that_ formal and uptight." Levy snorted, "All of this is to appease the other fraternities and sororities here. Some of them are really competitive and by the rules. It certainly can get exhausting trying to keep those hot heads from breaking down their doors." Levy gestured over to the building that was labeled "Fairy Tail" in the same script as the Fairy Girls.

"Wow, there certainly is a lot that I didn't know about college." Lucy exhaled.

"But it's actually rather fun. We have this thing called the Grand Magic Games every year, it's really fun. All the fraternities and sororities gather together and pick their best members to form a team. There are magic duals and contests- the top prize is a million jewel for the winner's house treasury!" Levy gushed and Lucy gasped.

"That's a lot, geez!"

"It's just that amazing!" Levy laughed and then finally pushed open the door to the Fairy Girls' house. "Welcome to Fairy Girls, Lu!"


	3. Welcome to the Guild!

"This is… it?" Levy started excitedly and trailed off as she opened the door. The sight before them was something Lucy wasn't really expecting, but she wasn't really sure what to expect to begin with. A red haired girl, intimidating looking girl had another brunette girl, with glasses, pinned beneath her, her face in a snarl.

"You _dare_ try to take me on, Evergreen?" The girl on top barked and the other girl's eyes bulged. "How many times do I have to tell you, I don't care about being the "Queen of Fairies", but I _am_ the leader here, so I don't need you potting behind my back, and turning my girls against each other!"

"L-look, Erza, it was a mistake, okay? I get it." The girl named Evergreen stammered out and Erza released her from her grasp.

"That's what I thought." She smoothed out her skirt, and it was just then that Lucy noticed that she was adorned in armor. She _must_ be the house mother.

"Are we… interrupting...?" Levy questioned, and Erza laid her eyes on her. For some reason, Lucy gulped, and she felt a cold sweat coming on as if she had done something wrong.

"Ah, Levy! Who do you have with you? Welcome to Fairy Girls." Erza bellowed out warmly, and from what they had just witnessed, it was safe to say that Lucy was more than taken aback.

"This is Lucy! She's my new roommate, and I decided to give her an invite to the sorority. I hope that's okay, but I think you guys will like her." Levy smiled and Erza eyed her carefully.

"Sure, let me just ask you a few questions to see if you're ready to be a pledge." Erza half demanded and Lucy nodded quickly.

"Don't take it personally, Erza would interview anyone. You know, we're really close knit… It's hard for us to take on new members… Or friends for that matter." Levy whispered to Lucy and she half smiled down at Levy.

"Of course."

"Great, come right this way." Erza led Lucy to a room on the upper floor; when the door was opened, Lucy saw multiple more suits of armor on display. They were magnificent, and Lucy could only assume that this was Erza's room. "Make yourself comfortable." She gestured to one of the two large chairs in the middle of the room seated atop an oriental rug. "Now, Levy said you were her roommate, correct? I believe I remember her mentioning that she was going to be getting a new one. Anyways, what has Levy told you about us?"

"U-um, well, she said that all of you were part of an orphanage growing up, and that the dean took care of you... I told her that if you guys were too uncomfortable to take on a new member, then don't worry about me." Lucy chuckled. "I can tell Fairy Girls is very special to Levy and all of you, and I've only heard Levy speak of it…" Erza stared at her as if to read what was on her mind, so Lucy continued. "Either way, Levy told me that you have a brother fraternity… Fairy Tail, was it? Well, they both sound amazing, and you all sound amazing really… I know what it's like not growing up with parents…" Lucy trailed off slightly and Erza's face softened slightly. "She also told me that you are the house mother, and you make all the decisions. I will respect whatever decision you make." Erza locked her gaze on Lucy for another few moments and the smiled.

"It seems our Levy has taken quite the liking to you. Your information is correct. You seem like a very kind girl, Lucy. Do you mind telling me a bit about yourself now?" Erza asked in a friendly tone, and Lucy relaxed a bit and nodded.

"Sure. It's my first semester at school, well, ever. I was homeschooled all my life back home; I actually wasn't supposed to come to school until next year, that is if I could. My father didn't want me to come to a university… So I was going to try and persuade him next year, but… He died just this past summer. It was my mother's wish for me to go on to higher education, so I am following that and my own yearning for knowledge, and, well… Friends, I guess." Lucy realized she was telling this girl all of her personal details and shut her mouth quickly. "Ah, sorry… I don't mean to sound self pitying…"

"You're not at all, Lucy." Erza placed a hand on top of Lucy's for comfort. "I am sorry to hear about your father. I get a sense that your mother is not with us anymore either."

"N-no, she's not… She died when I was three years old…" Lucy admitted and then looked up, "Erza, can I be honest with you? A-and I don't mean to sound pitiful again, but I really want to do well here. This was my top school I applied to, they have the best magic program in Fiore, and I'd love to study my English major as well. All I ever wanted in life was to have friends and a family, but I didn't have that until I got here. I honestly know it sounds ridiculous considering this is only my second day here, but I was telling Levy, I just feel like you all have something that I have wanted my entire life. My father… He wasn't really a father. Not after my mom died. I've just been so lonely, and Levy has given me such hope, I don't know, I'm rambling, I'm sorry." Lucy hadn't realized she started crying until she stopped speaking and felt the hot tears roll down her cheeks. Erza surprised her by pulling her up into a tight embrace.

"It is true that we are guarded when making decisions about who we have as members, but ultimately it is my decision. I decide who is good and who is bad, and quite honestly, I have turned down everyone else…. Until now. Lucy, I want you to have a home, and I think that can be with us. You remind me of… One of us." Erza smiled at her. "Just be prepared to keep up with us, that is!" Erza laughed amiably and Lucy smiled.

"I am ready for anything." Lucy promised and Erza's eyes sparkled.

"Good, because this is just the half of us, you still have yet to meet the boys. Oh, don't get me started on Gray and Natsu…" Erza's fist clenched and her brows furrowed momentarily, but she regained her composure. "And of course there will be a small initiation ceremony, but it's nothing to worry about, only for you to keep secret! After you've become a full member, which I have no doubt that you will gain entrance to our sorority, you will receive our emblem from Mirajane." Erza flashed her bicep at her where an elegant blue tattoo sat.

"Oh, wow. What is it?" Lucy questioned curiously.

"Mavis Vermillion was the first person to open up the orphanage that we all lived in. She named it Fairy Tail; one of her biggest questions in the world was, _do fairies exist_? After that, she wanted to form a place where little lost fairies could live, and learn magic if their hearts so desire. Another question on the minds of the founders was, _do fairies have tails_? And thus Fairy Tail was born. This emblem is a fairy with a tail; it looks strong, and the members here wear it proudly." Erza ended her explanation clearly taking pride in what she had just said.

"That's amazing… Thank you so much for sharing this with me, Erza." Lucy shined and Erza nodded.

"Welcome to Fairy Girls! To make things easier, we call both Fairy Tail, and Fairy Girls a _guild_. We really only use sorority and fraternity when in the presence of other groups… It seems silly to have to use all of those technicalities, and really there is no separation between Fairy Tail and the Fairy Girls."

"That makes sense." Lucy decided and followed Erza back down into the lounge area of the building. Levy was waiting impatiently, tapping her foot against the floor in anticipation. She popped up when she saw Lucy and Erza descending the stairs. Erza left Lucy and Levy to themselves, and Levy pounced in front of Lucy.

"Well? What did she say?" Lucy left the air silent for a few moments longer, Levy's eyes growing wide and impatient until she finally scowled at Lucy making her laugh.

"I'm a pledge! Erza said I just need to go through the initiation ceremony!" Lucy cheered and Levy squealed excitedly.

"Yay! I knew you'd be great! Well, today _is_ Saturday… You better prepare for the ceremony because I can guarantee that it's tonight!"

"W-wait, tonight? What do I have to do? How do I prepare? Levy!" Lucy fretted and Levy simply smiled and skipped down the hall.

"That's for _me_ to know, and _you_ to find out! C'mon, let's go to the guild hall. The two buildings are secretly connected underground, you know." Levy winked and Lucy raised her eyebrows. _This place is full of surprises…_

Levy led Lucy down the seemingly endless hall until they reached a staircase that went down a level. Along the stone walls, torches lit their way down the steps, and Lucy felt like she was about to enter some secretive fort for spies or something of that nature. _Stupid brain, please get out of the "I'm writing a novel and like to think of crazy scenarios while doing normal tasks" phase…_ Lucy shook her head and followed Levy down excitedly. She was extremely eager to see what the _guild_ had to offer, and she was so happy that she was getting the chance to be a part of it.

"Magnolia University is something we call a wet campus. A.K.A we can have alcohol here. Now, I'm not just saying that because I enjoy drinking or something, I'm just letting you know that that's what happens a lot around here. These guys like to party; besides, we wouldn't have the reputation we do if we didn't get a little crazy sometimes, right?" Levy simpered and guided Lucy through an opening at the end of the stairway. "This is the hall, over there is the bar, Mira works there. You'll like her, she's supers sweet, but don't let her know if you have a crush on anyone… She'll totally snoop and try to hook you up with people." Levy shuddered slightly and Lucy stifled a giggle, wondering who the poor girl had been set up with. Lucy gasped as she entered the large room; she could see, on the opposite side of the area was an identical entrance, and she guessed that's where the boys came in from.

"We weren't _technically_ supposed to have a hall like this, but I guess it pays off having the dean as a caretaker! And, after all, who's going to argue with Gildarts? He's the one who helped build the place with his destruction magic. Though we probably should have known that wasn't the best of ideas…" Levy rambled on and Lucy picked up bits and pieces, trying to understand what her friend was talking about.

"Who's Gildarts?" Lucy questioned and Levy's eyes turned up to Lucy.

"Oh! Sorry, I forgot you don't know who everyone is yet. He's Cana's dad, and kind of like a dad to a couple other people. He's going to seem really sleazy and he will probably hit on you, but he loves Cana dearly. He really is a good guy, and he's actually a professor of magic here. Combat to be more specific, but he's usually away on long trips… I really don't know how he has a steady job here." Levy explained shaking her head.

"And… Who is Cana?" Lucy clamped her hands together awkwardly, feeling bad for asking so many questions.

"Cana is one of the older members of Fairy Girls. She's pretty much an alcoholic, much like her dad, but she's a great friend, and she uses amazing card magic. Actually, she's right over there talking to Mira." Levy gestured to a beautiful brunette girl who was downing a huge mug of beer.

"I see." Lucy giggled, and Levy took them over to the bar. While they made their way there, Lucy noticed that the guild hall had several picnic tables lined up with members chatting away enthusiastically or were arguing. Lucy thought the atmosphere was lively and upbeat; _it's just what I need._

"Hey, Mira!" Levy called and a gorgeous white haired woman walked through the doorway of the kitchen.

"Oh, hello there, Levy! Who do you have with you?" Mira queried in a sweet voice, her soft blue gaze falling on Lucy.

"This is Lucy, she's our newest pledge!" Levy introduced her proudly and Mira smiled wide.

"Welcome to the guild! Are you excited?" Mira asked and Lucy nodded fervently.

"I really am! I cannot wait to be part of all this, well, that is if I pass initiation. Which I know nothing about, but I get it, it's tradition to keep it secret between sisters." Lucy smiled mischievously at Levy.

"That's good to hear! I'm glad that you'll be part of our home, and such a pretty girl on top of it! The boys better watch out!" Mira giggled and Levy snickered.

"Mira, she just got accepted as a pledge and you're already thinking about setting her up, aren't you?"

"What can I say, I know something will come out of it! But who will it be, I wonder…" Mira mused, a faraway look in her eyes.

"Oh, dear…" Lucy smiled nervously and then heard a slightly slurred voice address them to Lucy's right.

"Hey, what's this I hear? We have a new pledge, do we?" Lucy and Levy turned to see Cana scooting closer to them, another full mug of beer at her disposal.

"Yep! And my roommate. Cana, this is Lucy, Lucy, Cana." Levy gestured between the two girls, and Lucy stuck out her hand in greeting.

"Nice to meet-"

"Whoa, look at those jugs! You're certainly well endowed, aren't ya?" Cana smirked, eyeing Lucy's chest.

"Er…" Lucy was taken aback and flustered.

"Oh, Cana, stop that! Say hi normally!" Levy scolded and Cana laughed boisterously.

"Sorry, can't help myself from commenting on a hot girl. Or guy. Who cares, if you're hot you're hot. Either way, I'm Cana Alberona, nice to meet ya! I'm sure we'll be friends, want a drink?" Cana stated and and Lucy smiled.

"Uh, no thanks. But it's really nice to meet you!"

"Ditto, maybe next time on the beer!" Cana lifted her glass, chugged its contents, and staggered off.

"She seems… Nice." Lucy chuckled and Levy snorted.

"Cana's great, she just needs to lay off the booze, but we all know _that's_ not going to happen."

"Oh dear, I here the boys coming." Mira suddenly piped up, her eyes twinkling knowingly.

"But I thought they were already down here…" Lucy commented quizzically observing the many girls and boys in the hall.

"Oh, this is just a few, we have a lot of members here." Levy smirked. It was then that Lucy too heard the thundering of footsteps down the stairs Lucy had seen earlier. Shouts of protest, anger, or excitement, Lucy couldn't tell, could be heard. They only got louder as _the boys_ thumped down the stairs and into the hall.

"Come _on_ , Laxus! It's totally not fair!" Lucy heard the raspy voice of an unknown male sound first.

"Shut it, Natsu or I'm gonna punch ya." A gruff and angry sounding voice responded.

"Why can't I be a full member yet? You know I've earned it!"

"I said shut up! You're a pledge still and that's it, now shut your trap." Lucy could only believe that it was the man named 'Laxus' who responded yet again.  
"Well, while the topic is up for discussion, I don't see why I'm still a pledge. You know I'm a better wizard than this sorry excuse." Another new voice interjected, and Lucy heard a large sigh.

"Both of you are pissing me off. I told you that initiation is soon, so if you both don't quit your bitchin' then neither of you are going to be members." Laxus ordered.

"Yeah, but it's the middle of the semester!" Lucy guessed it was Natsu who responded.

"You two don't learn, do you?" Laxus' voice was dangerously low, and suddenly two boys flew from the opening following a large clap of lighting.

"Ah, wow, not too bad today." Levy commented. "Pretty mild."

"That's _mild_?" Lucy gasped. "Are the okay?"

"They're fine. This happens everyday, don't worry!" Mira assured Lucy as her heart beat started to slow down slightly.

"Okay, so the big blonde guy coming in that just zapped the other two in here, he's Laxus. He's the president of Fairy Tail. I forgot to mention that Erza is our president or house mom, whatever. You can just call her Erza obviously. Mira is actually our Vice President." Levy sent a small smile to the barmaid, and Lucy's eyes widened.

"That's right!" Mira chimed in, her eyes sweeping over Laxus.

"Oh wow… And that guy is big, why are the other two messing with him?" Lucy commented and Levy snorted once more.

"You see the blacked haired guy?" Levy gestured to one of the two groaning boys on the ground. "That's Gray Fullbuster. He's in our class, an ice make wizard, and on his way to being a full member of Fairy Tail, though we all know they're both getting in. The other one with pink hair, I know it's funny, is quite the pest, but a hell of a good wizard. His name is Natsu Dragneel," Lucy watched as the boy next to Gray stood up. Levy was right, his hair was undoubtedly pink, but that's not what Lucy noticed. He wore a simple black vest with an orange trim; it hung loosely around him. When he stretched, Lucy realized he wasn't wearing a shirt, and gulped at the sight of his exposed abdomen. He was toned, his features were boyish, but handsome, and Lucy knew she should stop staring, but she didn't. Lucy noticed a white scarf with a scale like pattern hung from his neck as he shook his disheveled hair out of his eyes.

"…he's what we call a dragon slayer. He uses fire to fight and- hey, are you even listening?" Levy complained and Lucy's attention snapped back to reality.

"Huh?"

"Does _someone_ like what they see?" Mira teased and Lucy's cheeks burned.

"O-of course I was listening! They seem pretty stupid to be messing with Laxus then!" Lucy huffed and then jumped from the sound of Laxus' deep rumbling voice to her side.

"Damn right they are. Freakin' twerps." He growled and leaned over the bar, placing a small kiss on Mira's lips.

"Oh!" Lucy squeaked out, her blush deepening and Levy snickered.

"Aw, you two are so cute." Levy pestered and Laxus rolled his eyes.

"Who's this, pipsqueak?" Laxus, referring to Levy, asked about Lucy.

"Hey!" Levy protested, but then introduced Lucy. "She's our newest pledge, and my roommate."

"Huh." Was all Laxus grunted before stalking off.

"H-he seems…. Nice...?" Lucy offered and Mira smiled.

"He's really not one with words." Mira comforted. "But he makes up for it in other ways."

" _Okay_ , I'm done with this conversation! Why don't we go explore, shall we?" Levy got up and pulled Lucy with her. As Lucy turned to follow Levy, she gave one last look behind her at the strange pink haired boy. As she did, his gaze met hers and he stopped mid turn to stare back. Lucy's breath hitched and her heart fluttered. She wasn't sure what to do, so she quickly turned to face Levy's back knowing full well that her cheeks were bright red. As they walked our, Lucy could feel his gaze burning on her back as if even his stare had the power to scorch her like a flame.


	4. Initiation

Natsu's POV

"Hey, Mira!" Natsu called as he sprung towards the bar, where the take over mage stood pouring beer into a glass for Wakaba, seemingly unharmed by the large bolt of lighting that had just struck him. His hair, if possible was even more disheveled from the electrical current that had passed through him, but Natsu brushed it off and took a seat in front of the barmaid.

"Oh, hello, Natsu! What can I do for you?" Mira asked politely and Natsu rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. He wasn't sure how to word his question without sounding creepy, so he just went for it.

"Who was that girl with Levy?" Natsu blurted out while busying himself by fixing the scarf around his neck.

"Oh, that's Lucy. She's Levy's new roommate and Fairy Girls' newest pledge. You should introduce her to the boys!" Mira suggested and Natsu frowned.

"She doesn't know me. I'm sure Levy will take her around."

"Why do you ask anyways, Natsu? Did _something_ catch your eye?" Mira winked and Natsu gulped, scowling at the table.

"I dunno what you're talking about, but don't start pulling your lovey dovey crap on me. I ain't interested." Natsu huffed and shoved himself away from the bar. For some reason the short conversation had bothered Natsu. He had merely looked at the girl and asked who she was, was it a crime to wonder who was in your own guild's hall?

"Well, someone's a little _hot_ and _bothered_ , aren't they?" Mira called as he stalked off.

"Whatever, Mira!"

Lucy's POV

"We can just kind of hangout until later, if that's okay with you? Do you need to do anything today?" Levy queried and Lucy shook her head.

"I don't think so. The school is exempting me from all of the work for the first two months and giving me alternative work to do until I catch up. They said I don't need to start that until Monday though, they wanted me to get accustom to the university for the weekend."

"Oh, that's a relief! I'll help you with any work you get this week if you'd like." Levy offered and Lucy smiled.

"Well, if you want to, that would be great! But I'm sure you'll have your own work to do."

"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there! For now, let's enjoy the weekend. I have nothing to do either, I finished my work early, and got my translations in to Freed…" Levy trailed off seemingly deep in thought and Lucy shrugged and followed her into the girls' lounge. They sat in the plushy, brown leather couches, and Lucy watched as some girls filtered in and out carrying out different tasks or doing homework.

"So, would you mind telling me more of what kind of magic our guild members use?" Lucy asked as Levy plopped down beside her.

"Sure! Erza uses something called 'requip' magic. I'm not sure if you've ever heard of it, but it allows her to use different armor in battles, and each armor has a different advantage. She stores hundreds in her requip archives." Levy explained and Lucy stared at her in awe.

"That's amazing! I had a feeling she was strong, but I didn't know that she was _that_ strong!"

"Yep, that's our President! Let's see… You wouldn't expect it, but Mirajane's magic is called 'takeover' magic. Her siblings have it as well, well… You'll only be able to meet Elfman. Anyways, Mira has real demon souls that she can utilize for battle, it's actually pretty terrifying coming from someone so sweet."

"Wow, that's really something… Wait, how come I'll be able to only meet Elfman? You said _siblings_ as if she had more than one…?" Lucy inquired and Levy sighed.

"Yeah… Mira is the oldest of the Strauss siblings. Then there is Elfman and lastly Lisanna…" Levy paused and Lucy tensed, _I feel like I shouldn't have asked…_ "I actually shared a room with Lisanna when we were in the orphanage. We were pretty close. One day when, when she was with Mira and Elfman… An angry man from the village that they came from, he… Tracked them down and tried to kill them. Their parents abandoned them when they were younger and the village blamed Mira for bringing bad luck to them with her demon souls. Anyways, in the midst of protecting themselves, the guy took out a gun and Lisanna was shot… That was about four years ago now." There was a long pause as Lucy took everything in, she hadn't thought things could have gotten worse for them, but Lisanna's death was horrifying.

"Levy… I-I'm so sorry… I shouldn't have asked…"

"No, it's okay! We're all okay. I miss her, we always talked about being roommates when we went away to school as well. After that, I didn't feel ready to take on another roommate, here or at the orphanage. I don't know what made me change my mind, but Master Makarov, just a few weeks ago, asked me if it was alright if I take on a roommate. He was referring to you of course, and normally I would have said no, but I just had this feeling that you would be good, I guess. And I was right." Levy smiled at Lucy and she felt herself tear up. "Mira and Elfman took it the hardest obviously, but Natsu, too, took it really bad. He was one of Lisanna's closest friends." Lucy nodded.

"I'm sure it was hard for everyone." Lucy sighed and wiped at her eyes with her sleeve.

"On a brighter note, I should tell you about _teams_!" Levy piped up again and Lucy looked at her in confusion. "Sometimes members form teams with each other, it's not necessary, but it allows you to participate in team events, or just have another group of friends to hangout with. I'm on a team with Jet and Droy, I'll have you meet them later. We've been on a team since we were little kids! I just want you to know in case you ever feel like joining one or someone mentions it." Levy explained.

"Oh, that sounds really cool! And what are Jet and Droy like?" Lucy asked politely.

"Oh, they're great." Levy laughed. "They're great friends and I love them, but they're always being really obvious about competing for my affection, but those two will always be like brothers to me, you know?" Lucy giggled at the though of two boys trailing after Levy with love struck faces.

"Hey, girls!" Mira suddenly popped her head in the room coming from the guild hall. "Oh, Lucy, you just have to go meet the boys, okay? I think it's important for you to know everyone before your initiation tonight!" Mira urged and Lucy nodded her head awkwardly.

"U-um, okay! Sure."

"Hm, Mira, I feel like you're scheming again." Levy commented, a smirk playing on her lips. "As long as it's not about me, again," Levy stated ruefully, "I'm down to know the plan!"

"Why, I don't know what you're talking about Miss McGarden." Mira giggled and then winked. "Go, take her to Fairy Tail!"

"Alright, alright. Come on, we might as well introduce you to everyone while we have the time." Levy ushered Lucy out the front door of Fairy Girls and to the right where the main entrance to Fairy Tail stood. Levy knocked the big… Cat? Knocker on the door and an eye slit slid open.

"What is smelly and yummy at the same time?" Demanded a high pitched voice from behind the door.

"Fish! Now let us in, Happy!" Levy laughed and the door swung open revealing a blue cat floating in the air using two long, white wings.

"Oh!" Lucy squeaked and Happy eyed her.

"Hey, who are you bringing in here, Levy?" The blue cat frowned and Levy stepped in allowing Lucy to follow suite.

" _This_ is Lucy! She's my new roommate and our new pledge, and I am really getting tired of saying that." Levy sighed. "I brought her here to meet everyone. Lucy, this is Happy. He lives with Natsu."

"O-oh, hello, Happy." Lucy smiled, bowing slightly.

"Hi! Natsu and I are best friends, you know. Hey, do you have any fish?" Happy questioned and Lucy furrowed her brows.

"N-no, sorry!"

"Go visit Mira for some food you great ball of fur!" Levy teased and Happy floated off whining about how Levy was 'mean'.

"He's awfully cute." Lucy snickered.

"He's quite the character… Happy is an Exceed. He's probably a little grouchy because Wendy and Carla haven't visited in a while. Wendy is a younger girl at the orphanage, but she's still in high school. She's a smart kid, so she's actually been taking some classes here, so she's here sometimes. Carla is her Exceed and Happy is very much so in love with her." Levy tittered and Lucy looked at her amusedly.

"There certainly is a lot going on around here." Lucy commented and finally took in her surroundings. The whole lounge area was a mess, boys clothing and beer bottles were strewn across the floor, and loud music was blaring from someone's room on the upper floor. "I see why you guys don't share a house."

"Exactly. Erza comes in here at least once every couple weeks and freaks out at them. It stays clean for a few days and by the end of the week it's back to being the same mess it always is."

"Levy!" A pair of voices sounded as two boys ran up to her. Well, more like one ran _very_ quickly, and the other huffed and puffed his way to stand next to his friend.

"Hey guys! This is Lucy, my new roommate." Levy introduced Lucy once again and the boys smiled and said hello. "This is Jet and Droy."

"It's nice to meet you guys, Levy told me great things about you two!" Lucy laughed as their cheeks flushed.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt you guys, but you _did_ promise to hangout with us." Jet reminded Levy and she squeaked out an 'oh!'.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Lucy, I'm sorry, will you be okay on your own? I planned to hangout with them a while ago." Levy apologized looking guiltily between the three of them.

"Go have fun! I'll be fine, I can explore a bit and get to know people." Lucy assured her and Levy perked up.

"Really? Oh, thank you! I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you later!" Levy promised, gave Lucy a small hug, and headed out the door with Jet and Droy. Quickly, Lucy felt a bit out of place. She was surrounded by people she didn't know, fighting, and loud noises. Just as she was about to leave, she heard a voice calling out to her.

"Hey, Lucy right?" The boy asked and Lucy turned to see Gray standing in front of her… Shirtless.

"Uh, yeah, you're Gray, right? That's what Levy said… I'm sure my name has been passed around a few times, everyone seems interested." Lucy joked and Gray smirked.

"Natsu was yammering on about someone new and I only assumed it was you. You look awfully lost here, want me to show you around?" Gray offered and Lucy flushed slightly. Gray was really nice and more than a little in shape, of course she only new because he was half naked.

"Oh, sure, if you'd like to." Lucy answered and Gray nodded.

"It's no problem. So what are you here for?" Gray mused as they picked their way in between the disheveled room.

"I'm obviously majoring in magic, but I'm also an English major like Levy. My minor is writing. What about you?" Lucy asked and Gray laughed.

"I'm actually here for a teaching degree. Magic specifically, but I wanna teach kids." Gray confessed.

"That's really sweet." Lucy admitted and Gray shrugged it off. Lucy could tell he wasn't the type of person to want all of the attention on himself.

"Oh, that reminds me, are you okay? Before you took quite the shock from Laxus." Lucy worried.

"Oh geez, you saw that? How embarrassing… Yeah, I'm fine. It was Natsu's stupid fault anyways…" Gray grumbled.

"I get the sense that you and Natsu don't get along?" Lucy meditated and Gray sighed.

"The guy is just an idiot plain and simple, but we're in the same guild so we probably get under each other's skin a lot."

"Well, at least you can admit it. On another note, where are your clothes?" Lucy shifted her eyes away from him as she realized he was now also bottomless.

"What? Not again!" Gray cried out.

"Wow, Gray, I don't think that's how you greet people you ice freak." Natsu's gruff voice came from down the hall, and Gray scowled at him.

"It's not my fault!" Gray wailed and Natsu snorted.

"Please, being a perv is like your job." Natsu shrugged and Gray stormed off.

"Sorry, Lucy, I'll show you around after I find my pants!" Lucy laughed a bit and then awkwardly turned back to Natsu. She felt her heart flutter faintly, that was something new. Lucy had never felt like that way before, but there was something about the boy in front of her with the floppy pink hair and the cocky smirk that seemed to be permanently set on his lips.

"So… You're Lucy, right? I saw you back in the hall…" He trailed off a bit and glanced down at the floor. This wasn't the same confident guy that had just been arguing with Gray, he actually seemed a little put off as if he didn't know what to say to her.

"Yeah. I saw you get zapped." Lucy blurted out immediately feeling back as Natsu's head whipped up, his cheeks slightly tinted pink.

"Ah, well, it happens all the time. Laxus is a jerk anyways. So, how are you liking it here so far?" Natsu seemed to recover and looked like he was feeling more comfortable.

"It's great, I'm really excited to be here and experience everything!" Lucy exclaimed and Natsu smiled. He had oddly sharp canines and Lucy made a mental note to ask Levy more about him.

"Yeah, maybe you and I could-" Natsu was cut short as Levy's voice rang through the house.

"Lucy? I forgot we need to get you ready for tonight!" Levy bounded over to them, nodding at Natsu. "For initiation, I need to help you prepare!"

"Oh, okay."

"What? She _already_ gets initiation? I'm gonna freakin' kill Laxus!" Natsu growled.

"As if you could!" Came a random voice from somewhere in the lounge, and Natsu sped past them to confront the person taunting him.

"He gets distracted easily, doesn't he?" Lucy mused and Levy giggled.

"Yeah he does. Come on, let's head back to the dorm."

Back at their dorm, Levy was giving Lucy a run down of what to expect and how to prepare for her initiation ceremony.

"I'm a little nervous, honestly." Lucy fretted and Levy patted her on the shoulder.

"Relax, it's really nothing huge. But it is to gain entrance to the sorority, so we have to take it a little seriously." Levy advised and Lucy nodded. "I'd dress nicely, kind of if you were going to a party. Always make sure your work is done, which it is because you don't have any, because it's going to be a long night!" _Leave it to Levy to be worrying about school work_. Lucy's lips pulled up into a smile.

"Of course. Well, I guess we can start off with what to wear? Do you want to help me pick? I'll show you what I have." Lucy suggested and Levy nodded vigorously. Lucy opened up her closet to reveal all the clothing that she had brought with her. Most of what she brought was casual clothing, but she did bring some of her nicer clothes and dresses in case something like this did happen.

"Oh my god, all of your dresses and stuff are so beautiful! Where did you get these?" Levy's eyes practically sparkled and Lucy realized, while she was lonely growing up, she still had all the nicest things due to her family's fortune. Levy, and the others of the orphanage, on the other hand didn't have that luxury.

"Well… I my father was a very successful man, but I don't really have much part in it. This is what I have left from that era of my life. Do you want to wear any of them?" Lucy offered and Levy stared at her wide eyed.

"Would you really let me?" Levy whispered and Lucy laughed lightly.

"Of course! We can pick them out together." Lucy assured her and the girls started going through the dresses. By the end of a couple hours, Lucy and Levy had both picked out beautiful outfits for the evening. Lucy had a tight pink dress on with a black fringe on the sweetheart neckline. The chest part of the dress was tied together with crisscrossed string that showed just a bit of her cleavage. Levy had picked out a simple yellow dress that was paired with two bell sleeves, and tied behind her neck. Lucy thought it suited her wonderfully and she looked absolutely adorable.

"We look great!" Lucy exclaimed and Levy smiled.

"I've never had anything this fancy." She answered quietly and twirled around in front of the mirror to see every angle.

"Keep it." Lucy declared as she watched the small girl admire herself. Levy whipped around in surprise and gasped.

"No, I couldn't!" She protested, but Lucy shook her head.

"Please do. Besides, if I ever want to wear it, I know where to go! It suites you better than it does me anyways." Lucy busied herself with fixing her hair and smiled as she saw, out of the corner of her eye, jump once in excitement.

That evening, Levy lead them back to the Fairy Girls' house for Lucy's initiation. The interior seemed dark, and when the girls stepped through the door, the lights were thrown on and girls jumped out from all corners of the room.

"Welcome, Lucy!" A chorus of warm voices greeted her, and Lucy felt embarrassed from all of the attention on her. A huge banner hung across the ceiling beams displaying _Welcome to Fairy Girls!_.

"With this initiation, we give you the opportunity to meet everyone and prove to us that you are ready and able to be a proper member of Fairy Girls." Erza stated smiling while coming out of the kitchen with two bottles of whine. "And to have some fun of course!"

"Oh wow, I didn't expect this, this is amazing! Thank you everyone." Lucy smiled broadly at everyone and started to mingle. She, of course say Mira and Cana, but also met Evergreen, and Bisca along with a few others throughout the night.

"Alright, Lucy, it's important for you to understand our rules and that the secrecy of them must be upheld." Erza proclaimed and handed Lucy a booklet. "These are our _Rules of the Fairies_ and they should be taken seriously. I want you to make sure you learn and understand them, so that is yours to keep. Read up on it in your spare time, but we will go over the basics with you."

"Some of the main categories are, secrecy, school, _boys_ , and social events. Each category has points, and their own sub categories." Mira explained putting emphasis on the _boys_ category.

"We've kind of already went over the secrecy part, it's really important, as a member, to keep things between us." Erza described and Lucy nodded.

"Of course, I wouldn't want to jeopardize that." Lucy guaranteed.

"School is very important to us and we want everyone who is involved with us to keep their grades up and to not get put on suspension."

"And it's always essential, if you're going to wear our mark, to be nice to everyone here at Magnolia University!" Mira chimed in. "But the most important section is the _boys_ section!"

"Mira, I don't know if that's the most important section… But it is certainly a key one!" Erza smirked menacingly.

"Don't date anyone a member has already dated, it's not nice!" Mira advised. "And don't flirt with another member's crush! Or I, personally, will take care of whoever is because it will ruin my matchmaking." Mira's eyes flashed red and a dangerous aura engulfed her.

"D-don't worry, I won't!" Lucy gulped; Levy had been right; Mira could be terrifying.

"It's your right to privacy, but let us know about any new relationships! We can't help but be curious." Erza demanded and Cana snickered.

"Yeah, and if you don't Erza and Mira will have fits because they're so nosey." Cana explained and the two glared at the brunette. "Just tellin' it how it is."

" _Anyway_ , that's just a summation of our rules, we have more, but they are all in your handbook." Erza elucidated and Lucy nodded.

"That sounds good to me." Lucy decided and Erza nodded.

"Now, we'd all like to see what kind of magic you have to offer us." Lucy felt uncomfortable to be put on the spot, but she wanted to empress the girls, so she happily took out her keys.

"I think that I could be of use here. I want to get better with battling with magic though. I use Celestial Spirit magic." Lucy explained removing her keys from her bag. "These silver keys are regular spirits, and these gold ones are the spirits of the zodiac. I-I'll show you one of each. Open, gate of Canis Minor, Nikora!" Lucy ordered and Plue came popping out of a puff of smoke.

"Puun puun!" Plue cooed out and the girls gasped.

"He's so cute!" Mira squealed and plucked him off of the ground.

"This is Plue, he's the 'little doggy' spirit. He's not for battling, I just have him as a friend." Lucy smiled and then Plue disappeared back to the spirit world.

"I make contracts with them and they help me by fighting by my side. They are very dear to me." Lucy said and then pulled out Leo's key. "Open, gate of the Lion, Leo!" Lucy summoned and Loke appeared.

"What can I do for you my beautiful la…dy?" Loke suddenly trailed off as he realized where he was.

"This is Loke, he's the gate of the lio-" Lucy was cut off by gasps again.

"Loke? What the hell?" Cana exclaimed and Erza's eyes almost popped out of her head.

"What?" Lucy was confused and looked between the girls and Loke.

"Eh heh, ladies…" Loke squirmed uncomfortably.

"You're a celestial spirt? Why didn't you say anything?" Levy cried out in astonishment and Loke pushed his glasses further up his nose.

"It never came up." Loke shrugged and Erza whacked him in the head.

"Ow!"

"Wait, you guys know each other?" Lucy questioned in surprise and then turned to Loke. "Loke, what the hell? You never bother to tell me you knew anyone!"

" _Knew_ , he's Gray's freaking roommate and a member of Fairy Tail!" Erza growled.

"What!? You never once mentioned you were a student!" Lucy frowned and Loke cringed.

"I'm sure I can make it up to you, beautiful." Loke purred stepping towards Lucy.

"As if!" Lucy growled and punched him away. "Go home!" With that, Loke was sent back to the spirit world and the girls were left in silence until bubbling laughter filled the house.

"What a coincidence!" Mira giggled out and Lucy shook her head.

"I had no idea what kind of life Loke lead!"

"I'm so mad I didn't know he was a spirit; I should have been able to tell!" Levy grumbled and crossed her arms. "I need to do some more studying."

"Well, Lucy, it looks like you're bringing in some interest from all of us." Erza smirked. "We don't do hazing around here, but I think that I have a pretty good idea of the type of person you are now. I have made my decision. Mira?" Erza addressed her Vice President and Mira smiled sweetly.

"I have too. All of those in favor of making Lucy a full fledged member, say 'Aye!'!"

"Aye!" A chorus of responses came from the girls surrounding her, and Lucy felt overwhelmingly accepted and excited.

"Really?" Lucy gasped and Erza nodded.

"I don't see why not. We all think that you'd be a great member. You're kind, wise, and with a little training here at the university, you can become an even stronger mage. What do you say, do you accept us too?" Erza questioned and Lucy nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course! It would be an honor to be part of Fairy Girls and the guild!" Lucy accepted graciously and the girls cheered.

"Alright! Time for the party!" Cana declared and Mira approached Lucy.

"It's time to receive your guild mark." Mira informed her as she brought up a stamp-like device. "Pick a color and a place where you'd like to receive it, and then you'll be an official member!"

"Oh wow, really? Hm…" Lucy deliberated for a moment and then decided. "Can I have pink? And can I have it on the back of my right hand?"

"Of course!" Mira brought the stamp to her hand and pressed it firmly down. It didn't hurt, it glowed briefly followed by a warm, tingling sensation, and when Mira removed it, Lucy had the same mark Erza had shown her.

"This is so cool!" Lucy squealed and Levy smiled at her.

"I'm so happy for you!" Levy hugged her tightly. "Welcome to our home."

"Before everything gets too crazy- hey, listen up!" Erza clapped her hands together. "I need to appoint Lucy a big considering she is now a little. Cana," Erza turned to the girl who was about ready to down a whole barrel of liquor. "I'd like you to be Lucy's big. I think you have a lot to offer for her, you've never been a mentor to anyone, and I think it'll sober you up a bit…" Erza said the last part a little under her breath receiving chuckles throughout the house.

"Wha- really? You want me to? I mean sure, if Lucy's okay with it." Cana looked over to Lucy worriedly.

"Sure, I'd love to have you as my big." Lucy smiled and Cana raised her barrel.

"Alright, it's settled, I'll help ya out!" Cheers were heard around the house as the partying commenced. Lucy had never felt so at home and she had never had so much fun. She really felt that it was going to be a great experience with everyone, and she was excited to see what the year would bring to her.

 _Meanwhile outside…._

"Please tell me again why we are spying on them? Erza would kill us if she found out." Gray huffed as he stood next to Natsu near a ground floor window of Fairy Girls.

"I just wanna see what they're doing." Natsu answered, sounding annoyed. "Looks like we came at the right time anyway, she's showing them her magic…" Natsu, Gray, Jet, Alzack, and Droy all huddled around the window trying to get a peek in.

"Oh, there's Bisca…" Alzack stated dreamily and Gray snorted.

"Just as her out already." Jet advised and Alzack shook his head.

"I don't know…"

"You already gave her your letters!" Droy pointed out.

"That was one time because she was cold!" Alzack snapped and the boys rolled their eyes.

"You are so delusional…" Gray muttered and Natsu hushed them.

"Will you guys shut it! She just made a little dog thing pop out of no where." Natsu admired and stared intently inside.

"Geez, you certainly are interested in Lucy." Gray snickered, but also focused his attention on the girls. Natsu didn't respond and instead watched as the creature disappeared into thin air. Lucy then drew out a golden key and held it in front of her.

"What is that?" Gray wondered curiously and Natsu snorted.

"Clearly it's a key." When Lucy raised the key up, a guy came popping out of no where like the little dog had.

"What the hell, Loke?" Gray spluttered and Natsu practically growled.

"What is he doing in there? Hey, how does he get to be part of their initiation ceremony! We don't get to know what goes on!" Droy protested and Jet shoved him out of the way to look in the window.

"That's definitely him alright…" Jet confirmed.

"That is kind of strange…" Alzack admitted. The rest were startled as they heard Natsu utter almost a guttural growl.

"Natsu, what the hell?" Gray hissed over to him. "What's your problem?"

" _I'm going to kill him_." Natsu declared, setting his glare on Loke as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.


	5. Confrontation

Lucy was exhausted from the night before at her Fairy Girls' initiation, but she was, needless to say, ecstatic to be a new member. Her 'guild mark', as the girls had called it, seemed as though it shone brightly in the sun as she walked down the path through the quad. Lucy almost felt the need to throw her hand in people's faces and scream, "Look at it! Do you know what this means? That's right, I'm a Fairy Girl!", but Lucy figured that it would be rude and _very_ strange for her to do that. She and the rest of the girls had slept pretty late into the day making Lucy almost forget about the meeting she needed to go to with Dean Makarov. She quickly showered and got dressed, and was then making her way over to the administrations building. It was a short walk from she and Levy's dorm, so Lucy managed to get there in a timely fashion; after all, she hadn't wanted the school to think she was a slacker just on her third day of being there. Lucy finally made it to the dean's office with the helpful direction of the kind, but ever eccentric, 'Master Bob' as he introduced himself. He was a large man with blushed cheeks, eyeshadow, and lipstick painted on, along with being clothed in a dress. Besides his unconventional outward appearance, he was extremely nice, and brought Lucy straight to Makarov's office. Lucy wasn't going to be one to judge someone's appearance, and thanked him appreciatively, and pushed the office door open. A tall chair was facing the window that overlooked campus, and a gravely voice greeted her.

"Hello, Lucy! I've been waiting for our meeting all day." The chair turned to reveal a very _short_ man, in contrast to the chair, baring a kind smile. A peculiar orange and blue striped hat perched on his head, and his mustache grew out, and ever so slightly curled upwards on the ends.

"You must be Makarov! A-ah, I mean, Dean Makarov." Lucy said apologetically and Makarov waved off her regrets.

"Please, Makarov is fine. Most of those brats call me 'gramps' anyways, or master." He grumped and Lucy stifled a smile.

"I assume you're talking about Fairy Tail?" Lucy wondered and Makarov nodded his head.

"Yes, have you been acquainted with them yet? I assume you will at some point considering Levy is your new roommate." He asked curiously.

"O-oh yes, actually, Fairy Girls has accepted me as a new member." Lucy admitted and sheepishly drew her hand up to reveal her mark.

"Hm!" Makarov hummed in surprise. "That was fast! You must have made a lasting impression on them, Lucy. They are a guarded bunch." Makarov rumbled and Lucy bowed her head slightly.

"Yes… I'm very grateful to be part of something so special. I admire what you've done for them." Lucy divulged and Makarov glanced up at her.

"You do what you need to do in this world." He stated humbly. "I just wish those damn kids would stop wrecking causing so much damage every week! Putting me through ringers I tell you, ringers!" He suddenly burst and Lucy's eyes widened. _I guess Fairy Tail really_ does _have quite the reputation. Is it bad that I'm excited to experience all of it?_ Lucy thought to herself, her heart fluttering excitedly.

"Ehem, excuse me." Makarov apologized and continued. "Anyway, to get you up to date on some things. I'm sure you all will have your own events planned for the guild and everything, but you can find university events on our website, and there's always fliers for occurrences around campus. I'd advice you to get a part time job here on campus, but that's up to you, I'm sure Levy could help you out with that. Clubs are always a good thing to be a part of, but being part of Fairy Girls will be good for you now. Besides, you're going to have a lot of work ahead of you to catch up, but it will be modified."

"Of course, I'll make sure that I stay on top of my work to catch up! Levy's great, I'm sure if I have any questions, she'll be happy to help me." Lucy assured him and Makarov smiled.

"Good. How are you adjusting here on campus? Is Magnolia U treating you well?" He questioned and Lucy smiled.

"Definitely. I feel… At home here already." Makarov smiled at her broadly while standing on his desk with his hands clasped behind his back.

"I'm happy to hear that. I hope you find what you are looking for here, Lucy. We all have pieces that we need to find somewhere." He finished mysteriously, but Lucy politely bid him farewell and thanked him for his time before she head back out to walk to her room.

"What an eventful weekend…" Lucy sighed to herself and glanced down at her hand happily once more. Lucy set out on her short walk back to the dorms when suddenly she heard a voice from behind her.

"Hey!" Lucy stopped walking and turned slightly in the direction of the voice. "Yeah, you!" The voice called out to her again and Lucy fully turned to see a dark blue haired man with a curious looking tattoo above his right eye.

"Yes?" Lucy questioned the strange figure that was slowly making his way towards her. "Can I help you with something?"

"Maybe. Maybe I can help you with something." He smirked cockily at her and Lucy furrowed her brows. "You wanna go to a party tonight?"

"A party on a Sunday?" Was Lucy's immediate response and the guy laughed.

"Studious are you? Yeah, it'll be fun." He had now closed the gap between them and Lucy immediately regretted stopping.

"Sorry, I don't think so. I don't even know you." Lucy began to walk towards the dorms, but he stepped in front of her quicker than Lucy had time to react.

"I'm Bora. Now you know me." He crossed his arms over his chest and planted himself solidly in her way. The sun had already begun to set while Lucy had been in the meeting with Makarov and was now almost fully past the horizon. Long shadows were being cast by the trees and buildings that surrounded the two, and Lucy was starting to feel panic rise in her chest. A blue pole, with **Emergency** pasted on it, was lit up; it was a distress button, and it was only a few yards away. Lucy debated making a run for it, but Bora seemed to have followed her gaze and snickered.

"Why are you thinking about running? All I asked was if you wanted to go to a party. C'mon, the ladies _love_ my parties."

"Yeah, well, no thanks. I don't party with creeps so, if you'll excuse me-" Lucy tried to step around him, but felt his strong grip around her arm. He pulled her back in front of her and stared at her coldly.

"I don't like disobedience, and I don't like being called a creep. It's an honor to be invited to one of my parties. You should be _grateful_." Lucy scowled at him and wrenched her arm away.

"I'll call anyone a creep who just randomly comes up to someone they don't know and tries to _forcibly_ get them to come back with them. And I _said_ I don't want to go to your stupid party, I'm going home!" Lucy stated boldly and Bora smirked once more.

"Well, since you're just so adamant on refusing my offer, I guess you could use a little reinforcement." He gestured and a group of more boys came out from behind the math building.

"What the hell is this? Preying on girls that are walking alone at night?" Lucy spat and Bora just laughed producing a spiral of purple flames that wrapped around his arm.

"I can't say that's _not_ what we're doing, but I do love a little _challenge_." Lucy instinctively went to grab her keys, but found that they were missing.

"What the-?" Lucy gasped and saw Bora toss them to one of his lackeys.

"Oh, looking for those? You won't need them."

"Give those back!" Lucy demanded frantically, but was then seized from behind by a man she hadn't seen behind her. "What are you doing?" Lucy shrieked incredulously and Bora shook his head.

"Gag her mouth, we can't have her alerting anyone with her pitiful wails." Lucy felt fabric roughly being shoved into her mouth making her heave somewhat, and then glared at Bora. Lucy was terrified and didn't know what to do. _Please, someone, help me…!_ She squeezed her eyes shut, ready to accept whatever fate was coming to her, when suddenly she heard a loud yell descending from above her, and opened her eyes to see another figure smash down on top of Bora, knocking him to the ground.

"What the hell?" Bora groaned staring up at who had attacked him. Lucy flicked her eyes towards the newcomer's face and immediately recognized it. His wild pink hair flopped down across his forehead, and a glower worthy of nightmares spread across his face.

"What do you pieces of shit think you're doin'?" Natsu questioned them dangerously and Bora stood up.

"What's it to you? Shouldn't you learn to choose your battles wisely?" Bora snickered as his friends surrounded him menacingly.

"It's funny," Natsu laughed slightly; he sounded dangerous, it was nothing like Lucy had ever seen before. "I was gonna ask you the _same_ thing." His fists clenched and became alive with flames. Hot orange, red, and yellow flames licked across his skin; it was nothing like Bora's fire. Lucy had never been more intimidated in her life, yet she was so mesmerized.

"Tell me somethin', are you the scum that's been threatening all these girls around campus? Tellin' them, if they said anything about what you did to them, you'd kill them?" Natsu growled out and Bora lost his composure for a split second.

"I think you just better carry on." The guy holding Lucy loosened his grip a bit and Lucy took the opportunity to break free from his grasp and pull the gag out of her mouth.

"Natsu!" Lucy gasped and his eyes flicked over to her for a moment, his gaze softening before fixing back on Bora. "I-I think they do bad things to girls!" Lucy called weakly, and the guy who had had a hold on Lucy lunged for her. "Gah!"

"Lucy!" Lucy's hope flared as she heard Happy's voice from above her, and felt him scoop her up and carry her.

"Whoa!" Lucy exclaimed as she watched the ground pass quickly beneath her body.

"Geez, you're heavy!" Happy groaned as he flew them up to the roof of the nearby math building.

"That's rude, cat!" Lucy snapped, but then scurried over to the edge of the roof to watch the confrontation below. "They're going to hurt him!" Lucy fretted and Happy snorted.

"Don't worry, Lucy. Just watch! Have fun, oh! By the way, here!" Happy reached into his little green pack and pulled out Lucy's keys and her cell phone which they had also stolen.

"Oh, thank you so much, Happy!" Lucy exclaimed and Happy nodded, and then gestured back to the ground.

"Enjoy the show! Hey, do you have any fish?" Lucy ignored the last part and fixated her gaze down at the unfolding brawl.

"What the fuck man? I wasn't doing anything wrong!" Bora protested, standing tall in front of Natsu. Natsu was shorter than he was, but was a hell of a lot more in shape.

"I think trying to drag girls back to your place is enough of a problem for anyone." Natsu pointed out, and Bora glared at him.

"Again, none of your business."

"Oh, is that so? Well, it becomes personally my business when Lucy happens to be our newest member." Natsu snarled and Bora looked confused.

"Newest member of what? Club cock block?"

"Hm, you must not be able to see me very clearly, let me bring a little light out here." Natsu raised a fist next to his head shedding some light across his face, and Bora visibly gulped. "You'll remember me now, I'm Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail, and I'm about to kick your ass."

"Shit that's the Salamander!" A voice from the crowed pointed out.

"I-I'm outta here!" Another one cried out and fled along with a few others.

"I'm impatient." Natsu barked out and then lunged towards Bora sending flames shooting at him.

"Salamander? Why did he call Natsu that?" Lucy questioned quietly, never taking her eyes off of the fight.

"People call Natsu that around here." Happy explained simply and Lucy nodded. Bora managed to dodge the first attack, but Natsu was quick on his feet and readied himself once more.

"Fire dragon's iron fist!" Natsu roared out and landed a square punch to Bora's face knocking him backwards.

"I-I didn't know she belonged to you guys!" Bora stammered out and Natsu snorted disdainfully.

" _Belonged_? We don't own _anyone_ and neither do you!" Natsu sent another fist at Bora, but stopped it right before impact leaving a cringing mess of a boy. "Don't you _ever_ lay your hands on Lucy again, or any other girl for that matter, or I'll _personally_ castrate you." Natsu stood up leaving Bora quivering on the ground. "Get out of here, you assholes!" Natsu sent out a warning flare of flames and the remaining people scattered. "You get out of here too before I change my mind." Bora feebly got to his feet and staggered towards his dorm, and Lucy felt Happy grasp her once more and float them back down to solid ground. Natsu stared at Lucy, and Lucy stared right back, unsure exactly what to say. She was awestruck and completely amazed by Natsu's skill and willingness to protect her.

"Th-thank you." Lucy breathed out, swallowing hard because her mouth was dried out. Natsu walked up to her slowly, his gaze full of concern.

"Did they hurt you?" He asked, eyeing her suspicious of what they had done to her.

"N-no, I'm fine… Thank you so much. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come." Lucy felt eternally grateful of Natsu. "I-I just can't help but be surprised with how ready you were to help me…"

"That's what Fairy Tail is. We help each other and protect each other." Natsu murmured quietly. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Y-yeah…" Lucy answered him breathily; she was sure she was staring at him dreamily because she just couldn't get over how amazing he was.

"Let's get you back to Levy." Natsu decided and guided her along the path towards her dorm.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure I'll be okay, you've already helped so much." Lucy insisted, but got a snort in response.

"Do you think we'd just leave you to walk alone?" Happy scoffed and Natsu smirked, his sharp looking canine being exposed.

"Geez, you're weird. You almost get kidnapped and you want to walk alone?" Natsu shook his head and Lucy crossed her arms as they walked.

"I am _not_ weird!" She protested and received a snicker from the boys.

"You're _super_ weird!" Happy agreed and Lucy mock swatted at the flying cat. "Ah, Natsu, she's mean!"

"Trying to hurt Happy, how rude!" Natsu gasped in faux horror, and Lucy couldn't help but let out a peel of laughter. "But seriously, how does someone run into trouble on their _third_ day being here?" Natsu laughed at Lucy as she scowled at him, and Happy giggled along with him.

" _Lucy_!" Levy gasped as she and Natsu entered the room. " _Where_ have you been? What happened? I called you like a thousand times! Natsu, why are you here?" Levy's questions were coming at them a mile a minute so, she and Natsu explained what had happened and Levy gasped. "Are you okay? Oh, Lu, I should have gone with you, I'm sorry!" Levy apologized and Lucy shook her head.

"No, don't blame yourself! Besides, I don't think those guys will be bothering anyone anymore." Lucy murmured and gave Natsu a glance.

"I don't want you guys walking around by yourselves. Not if there's shit heads like that walking around." Natsu growled.

"Thank you again for saving me." Lucy said quietly, and Natsu smiled.

"Don't sweat it." He answered. "I'll let you guys get some rest then." Natsu mumbled and Levy caught his hand as he turned.

"Hey, thanks, Natsu…" She looked at him, and Lucy noticed they seemed to share an unknown look. Lucy brushed it off for now, she was exhausted, and her first day of classes were the next morning.

"I need a shower!" Lucy exclaimed after she bid Natsu and Happy farewell, and as she turned to get ready to use the bathroom, Lucy felt Levy throw her arms around her torso.

"I'm glad you're safe, Lu… You had me worried."


	6. Day One

Lucy woke with a start; she couldn't be sure whether it was because it was her first day of classes or the fact that her phone was blaring her alarm, but either way she was excited. Levy had said that she could help her through her first day the best they could, but they only had one English class together so all she could really do was point Lucy in the right direction and bid her a 'good luck!'. Lucy was excited to have classes with other students; she had been in a single student class all her life, and while she acknowledged that being around so many people could be distracting, she was extremely excited for the experience.

"Guess it's just you and I today, Plu!" Lucy commented to the little spirit that toddled alongside her legs.

"Puun _pun_!" He chirruped out as Lucy lead them to the math building. Her first class was algebra which she took with a grain of salt and much chagrin, but Lucy managed to make it through. Lucy had a twenty-minute break before her next class and met up with Levy at the library café.

"How'd you like your first _real_ college class, Lu?" Levy sat next to her, sipping her tea and looking at Lucy excitedly.

"Well, it was alright. Algebra is certainly not the most exciting class I could have had, but hey, I can't complain, this is what I wanted!" Lucy smiled and Levy giggled.

"Yeah, some of the classes that we need to take are awfully boring, but I find comfort in the fact that everyone needs to suffer." Levy sighed and Lucy laughed at her friend's content expression due to people suffering in class.

"What do you have next anyways?" Lucy questioned after taking a sip of her own warm tea.

"Tier one magical combat. Jet and Droy are in it with me."

"Aw! I have magical combat as my last class for today. That's too bad." Lucy pouted and Levy rubbed her arm.

"Don't worry! I'm sure there will be some good people in it. Magical combat is great; oh, it's usually where you pick if you're going to have a partner, or a team too."

"Oh, well that's good to know. On that note, I need to run, I have psych now, wish me luck!" Lucy called as she ran out of the café.

"You don't need it!" Levy called after her and Lucy smiled as she made her way to the science building. Trudging up to the third floor, Lucy finally made her way to the classroom that was printed out on her schedule.

"Four oh two, here it is." Lucy swung the door open and shuffled in as other students began filing in. The first thing she noticed was a huge guy sitting in the back row with a mane of unruly black hair, and piercings up and down his face and arms. He stared straight on, his face in a permanent state of hatred, and a sad looking blue haired girl sat next to him looking forlornly at the empty whiteboard. No one sat with them, the odd pair just seemed to be in a completely different world than in a psychology class.

"Alright, I won't be sitting there…" Lucy whispered under her breath and scanned the room for an empty seat. She found by the window, and sat down, quickly taking out her notebook and scribing the date and _psychology_ at the top of the page.

"Mind if I sit here?" A familiar voice asked and Lucy looked up to find Loke staring down at her, a devious smirk on his face.

"Loke!" Lucy gasped and he chuckled and sat down. "Hey, I didn't say you could sit here!"

"It's where I usually sit anyways. Besides, looks like the heart wants what the heart wants, and yours definitely wants to be next to mine." Loke winked at her and Lucy rolled her eyes.

"In your dreams!" Lucy snapped and tried to ignore him, but he draped his arm across the back of her chair infuriatingly. "You're skating on _thin_ ice, Loke! Don't go hanging all over me! And _why_ did you never bother to tell me you were going to school?"

"It's a way to meet the ladies." Loke winked at another blonde haired girl across the room who seemed to melt at his gaze, and Lucy rolled her eyes again. "What else am I to do with my free time?" Lucy snorted and focused on her blank notebook and waited patiently for the professor to arrive.

"I hope you can help me catch up with this class rather than harass me this semester." Lucy grumped and Loke snickered.

"Of course. But if you want to spend some extra time with me, all you have to do is ask."

" _Loke_." Lucy growled and he put his hands up in surrender.

"Just kidding. I take school very seriously, actually. I like to keep my mind sharp." Loke tapped the side of his head. "And I need to keep an eye on these kids for Makarov." Loke murmured the other half of his sentence, Lucy almost missing it.

"Well, that's nice of you." Lucy softened a bit and Loke gave her a genuine smile.

"The _King_ of the Zodiacs is a very busy man." Loke puffed out his chest a bit, and went back to being his flirtatious self.

"Ugh, you're so annoying." Lucy half scowled, but ended up laughing by the end of it. The rest of class went on without a hitch; Lucy found psychology to be very interesting, so it was easy for her to keep up with understanding the theories and different studies done throughout ages. Though, by the end of the class, Lucy was happy to stand up, stretch, and leave Loke to his group of girls he was entertaining, and leaving the creepy duo from the back of the room.

The university's biggest attraction was its magical training, of course, and they had a magnificent building set up with even a dome for training and magical events. That's where Lucy was to be for her next class, and she was, needless to say, eager to get some _real_ training in. Bero, Lucy's teacher back at her family's Konzern, was a great teacher to her, but what Lucy really craved was the ability to defend herself, and help her friends if need be. She had always wanted that, but after the confrontation with Bora the other night, Lucy really felt helpless and magical combat was a great beginning. Lucy made her way to the _Battle Dome_ as it read on her schedule, and was greeted to an enormous room with training equipment set up in the middle of the arena. A tall man with rust colored stood in the middle of the room as well, his arms folded across his chest, his left arm seemingly made of some type of metal. Lucy quietly entered feeling a bit nervous; all the other students had plenty of training while she had not received any real training in her life.

"Lucy!" A deep voice called to her and she was happy to find the familiar face of Gray staring back at her.

"Gray! I'm happy to see you here." Lucy felt relief wash over her, and made her way over to the shirtless boy. "Won't you get in trouble for walking around topless?" Lucy pointed out and Gray shrugged.

"I don't even know what happened to it, but I'm quite honestly happy it's not my pants this time." Gray rumbled out and Lucy snickered, her eyes swiping across his bare abdomen making herself blush slightly.

"So, what's this class like? I'm pretty excited to learn more about magic." Lucy asked and Gray smirked.

"It's a great way to get the day's anger out. And of course learning more about your own magic. Back at the orphanage, we had a lot of training there, it kind of sucks we need to take this stupid tier one class when we already know everything about it."

"R-right…" Lucy swallowed thickly, _this is going to be worse than I thought… Everyone's better than me!_

"O-oh, not that this class is pointless!" Gray stammered out as he saw Lucy's dejected face. "Here, I'll take you to meet our professor. His name is Gildarts and he's Cana's dad."

"Oh, I think I remember Levy mentioning something about him." Lucy added as they walked up to him.

"Hey, Gildarts, this is Lucy. She's new here, just transferred in." Gray introduced Lucy and Lucy smiled shyly.

"H-hello. I'm happy to be here, I hope I'll do okay."

"Nice to meet you, Lucy! The name's Gildarts Clive, and you're gonna do great!" Gildarts smiled broadly and Lucy felt more at ease.

"Y'know, Lucy's Fairy Tail's newest member." Gray informed him and Lucy shuffled her feet slightly.

"Y-yeah, actually, I think your daughter, Cana, she's my mentor at Fairy Girls." Lucy admitted and Gildarts broke out into an adoring smile, his eyes glazing over.

"My wittle Cana, teaching someone the ways! She's so great!" Gildarts cooed and Lucy took a step back.

"Er…"

"Yeah, don't worry, this happens all the time whenever Cana is mentioned. He sure is proud of her though." Gray smirked thoughtfully and Lucy decided that it was sweet.

"Anyways, Lucy, you'll do great! Just don't listen to anything that comes out of that idiot's mouth!" Gildarts called, cupping his hands around his mouth as someone stepped into the room.

"What kind of bullshit's comin' outta your mouth, old man?" Natsu's gravelly voice called back and Lucy spun around.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed and Gray rolled his eyes at him.

"I see you two are already acquainted." Gildarts commented and whispered to Lucy. "I'm just kidding about that. Natsu here is one of our best students. Cocky as hell, but great with magic. Same goes for Gray over here. You've got yourself some good friends." He winked and Lucy glanced over at Natsu who was laughing with one of the other guys in class, and flicked his eyes over to hers just as she glanced his way.

"I could kick Gray's ass any day." Natsu smirked and Gray whipped around.

"Gah, can't keep anything from those damn ears of yours, kid!" Gildarts grumbled and Lucy wondered what he meant, but Natsu seemed to have heard their conversation. She made her way to where Gray was threatening Natsu's life, and plopped her backpack on the floor.

"Well, sorry you guys are stuck with me in this class, but I'll do my best." Lucy greeted them, feeling awkward in front of the more experienced students.

"We're not stuck with you; we'll be happy to help you. Well, I know _I_ will be, Natsu, on the other hand, doesn't work well with others." Gray scoffed and Natsu glared at him.

"I'd be _more_ than happy to help, Lucy." Natsu growled out.

"Well ya never have before, I would assume you wouldn't be starting now." Gray retorted and Natsu grumbled.

"Yeah, well I didn't see your ass out there helping her when that creep was trying to take her. I just saw you stripping when you first met her." Natsu smirked at his response and Gray placed a stony glower on his guild mate.

"Yeah, well at least I didn't go sniffing her ou-" Gray began, but Lucy was distracted as she felt a weight on her shoulder.

"Hey, Lucy! Nice to see you here!" Happy greeted her cheerfully and Lucy turn to look at him.

"Oh, hello, Happy!" Lucy smiled and pat his head. While Natsu and Gray death stared each other, Gildarts called the class to attention, and had them gather in the center of the large mat he was standing on.

"Okay, everyone, today we're going to be working on our sparring. I want you to pair up, and please, don't try and kill each other. That means, uh, no partnering between you two." Gildarts gestured between Gray and Natsu.

"Wouldn't plan on it." Natsu huffed.

"Likewise." Gray grumped and crossed his arms.

"Geez…" Lucy sighed and shook her head at the two boys.

"I want one of you two to be partners with Lucy, if that's okay with you." Gildarts informed them and turned to Lucy.

"That's fine with me." Lucy glanced at the two.

"I-" Gray started, but Natsu's voice interjected.

"I will." Natsu offered and Lucy felt her heart flutter again. She couldn't understand why this was happening to her, but at the moment she had to ignore it, and focus on class.

"I said I'd kick Lyon's ass today, anyways." Gray shared a look with Natsu, and Lucy could have sworn he nodded his head slightly, and headed towards a white haired boy smirking at Gray.

"Come to get beaten?" Lucy heard the boy greet Gray and Gray smirked back.

"Nah, it'll be my pleasure to hand your ass to you." Lucy chuckled lightly and turned back to Natsu who looked a little… Nervous?

"Well, I hope you don't mind being my partner anyways." Natsu ran his fingers through his spiky hair uncertainly, and Lucy smiled at him.

"Of course. As long as you don't mind me dragging you down; I don't know much about fighting with magic unfortunately…" Lucy confessed.

"Don't worry about it, that's what this class is for. It's an introduction, and I'll help you. We had a lot of training at the orphanage, Gildarts actually taught us some stuff when he was around. Gramps too." Natsu told her and Lucy nodded.

"Yeah, that's what Gray said. I had a little bit of training on how to use my magic, but I never have really fought with it… That's why I was so useless the other night. Thank you, again, Natsu. I don't know what would have become of me if you hadn't been there."

"Don't worry about it. Besides, in Fairy Tail, we protect each other. I know you'd do the same." Natsu smiled and Lucy nodded. "Now, with sparring, it's just practice, but I'm sure you already knew that. It's to train our skills as mages so we can begin to control them and use them in case we ever need to defend ourselves. Or if you're going to have some fun, like in the grand Magic Games at the end of the semester." Natsu smirked.

"Oh, yeah, Levy mentioned something about that. It sounds very interesting." Lucy stated and Natsu nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, this'll be my first year participating in it!" Natsu stated eagerly and Happy snorted.

"That's _if_ Laxus allows you to join in!" Happy taunted and Natsu glared at him.

"That's not funny, Happy!" Natsu snapped and Lucy laughed causing Natsu to glance at her momentarily. "Uh, anyways, let's get started! Show me what ya got!"

"U-uh, you want me to just attack you? No way!" Lucy protested and Natsu rolled his eyes a bit.

"C'mon ya weirdo, this _is_ magical combat!" Natsu urged her and Lucy frowned.

"Hey, I am _not_ a weirdo!" Lucy retorted.

"Yeah you are! Who gets into trouble on their _third_ day here?" Natsu teased and Lucy smirked deviously.

"Alright, if that's how you want to play, fine!" Lucy took out her whip and snap it in his direction as it lit up with celestial power.

"Whoa! What is that?" Natsu questioned as he easily dodged her attack.

"It's my fleuve d'étoiles, it's from the celestial spirit world, and a gift from a good friend of mine, Virgo!" Lucy called out and swiped Virgo's key through the air summoning her from the spirit world.

"Whoa-ho!" Natsu cried out in amazement. "That's so cool!" Lucy felt herself blushing under his praise.

"Shall I punish him, Princess?" Virgo inquired and Lucy smirked.

"You got it!" Lucy affirmed and Virgo flashed towards him wielding chains. Natsu, still in a state of amazement, narrowly escaped being bound together by Virgo. In that lull, Lucy lashed out with her fleuve d'étoiles, but Natsu jumped up into the air and Happy caught him and hung him in mid-air.

"Hey, no fair!" Lucy whined and crossed her arms over her chest eyeing Happy.

"You have another person with ya, how's it not?" Natsu smirked and pointed at Virgo.

"Well, I suppose you're right… But you're so much better than me!"

"You're not too bad, you just need some guidance." Natsu replied as Happy floated him back down to the ground. "'Sides, Happy and I are a team so we work together. I dunno if Levy mentioned teams to you."

"Yeah, she said that she, Jet, and Droy were in one." Lucy mentioned and Natsu nodded.

"Well, it's settled then, you'll be part of Team Natsu!" Natsu smiled his wide, toothy grin and Lucy blushed.

"Why me?" Lucy blurted out and Natsu smiled, Happy floating next to him. "Because you're so nice! And you have great potential, especially with a great teacher like me." Natsu smirked and Lucy laughed, but was blushing a great deal from his first comment.

"Do you guys really want me on your team?" Lucy questioned and Natsu rolled his eyes.

"'Course! What do you think, buddy?" Natsu addressed Happy and he smiled.

"Aye! Even if she is weird!" Lucy rolled her eyes, but ended up laughing with the boys.

"Well, I expect to be the best if I'm being trained by the best." Lucy simpered and she could have sworn Natsu was flustered.

"You bet! Now, let's get back to practicing…"

 _Meanwhile, in the other groups…_

"It's almost pathetic really." Gray snorted, but not out of malice.

"What's that?" Lyon asked, following Gray's gaze over to Natsu and Lucy.

"That that idiot over there can't even hide his interest in Lucy." Gray scoffed and Lyon shrugged.

"It just sounds like someone's a little jealous, Gray." Lyon goaded and Gray rolled his eyes.

"Please, as if I'm jealous of the flamebrain. He doesn't even know what flirting is, I don't think I'm too worried."

"Whatever you say." Lyon snickered and Gray glanced over at Natsu who was currently beaming at Lucy; his eyes shining with affection over the girl the had just met three days ago.


	7. A Rift

Lucy was exhilarated after her first day of _real_ college classes. She had already learned a lot from her sparring with Natsu in their magical combat class _and_ he had asked her to join his team. Lucy felt like she just kept getting lucky and feared that her luck was going to run out with all of the good things happening. It was only her fourth day at Magnolia U, but she felt like she was right at home. She had gotten breakfast with Levy earlier that morning and was heading over to the English building with her roommate for their Lit 100 class.

"Since you're really interested in literature and writing, I'm sure this class will be a breeze for you. Honestly, it will even be a little bit boring, but it's just _another_ requirement for the university!" Levy explained with a sigh.

"Well, that's alright. At least I'll be in a class that I enjoy! Not to mention, you're in it!" Lucy giggled and Levy smiled up at her.

"Oh, hey! Speaking of classes you like, how'd magic training go?"

"It was great! Gray and Natsu are in my class, and I got to meet Gildarts of course." Lucy laughed lightly at the memory of meeting Cana's peculiar dad. "Oh, and Natsu asked me to be on a team with him and Happy!" Levy stopped in her tracks and whipped around to face her.

" _What_?" She practically screeched and Lucy looked at her in utter confusion.

"W-what? Did I do something wrong?"

"No! It's just that I'm so surprised that Natsu took on a partner other than Happy… He's always been closed off to people joining his team, he likes to prove that he can do stuff on his own. As much as he's obnoxious, he's quite a private person." Levy informed Lucy and her heart did a little flutter as it had been doing lately. _Have I developed palpitations?_ "Plus he really doesn't know much about you… Oh, but don't worry! I'm glad that you have him; you're in safe hands!"

"O-okay…" Lucy stammered out as they finally reached the classroom they were supposed to be in. The rest of the class went by quietly; Levy had been right, the class was a bit boring and predictable. One of their main reading assignments was _Romeo and Juliet_ , and while Lucy _loved_ the story, it was a 'been there, done that' kind of situation. Lucy sighed and shoved her belongings into her backpack after the professor dismissed them. She bid Levy farewell as the shorter girl raced off to her next class, and promised to have dinner with her at the guild later that evening. Lucy pulled out her schedule to check what class she had next; _Magic Power Training_. Lucy was captivated by just the title of the class and excitement bubbled in her stomach. Though she had time between then and her next class, she made her way swiftly back to the Battle Dome. Outside of the main dome, there were normal classrooms that lined the outskirts of the building. Lucy made her way to room _209_ and timidly peered in. The room was empty and Lucy decided to sneak in early for some solace before having to start another lecture. She scrolled through her phone and responded to the few messages she had from Levy and Cana, and then took out a notebook doodling in the corner of the page. Just then the door opened as another person entered the room. To her surprise when she looked up, Mira stood at the front of the room and smiled at her.

"Hi, Lucy!" She greeted cheerfully and Lucy looked at her in surprise.

"Mira! What are you doing here?"

"I'm the TA for Magic Power Training- oh, that means teaching assistant in case you didn't know! I'm graduating this year and it's part of my practicum. Anyways, I'll be mainly teaching this course!" Mira smiled. "Besides, Gildarts focuses mostly on combat… And well, he's never here anyways."

"That's great! I'm glad to see some more familiar faces around here… It's so big!" Lucy admitted and Mira giggle a bit.

"You'll get used to it, you haven't even been here for a week yet! Don't get intimidated by everyone else, you are coming in mid semester as well."

"Thanks Mira." Lucy smiled appreciatively at the older girl. Their conversation was ended as more students filed in and Lucy was disappointed when she didn't recognize anyone. She prepared herself for the class to start when, three minutes after class was supposed to start, another student came rushing in.

"Sorry I'm late!" It was Natsu, his pink hair windswept and his white teeth gleaming in an apologetic smile. "Oh, hey Lucy!" He called to her and planted himself in the empty seat next to her. She smiled quickly at the disheveled boy and Mira nodded to him.

"That's okay, Natsu, you weren't too late this time." Mira giggled again and then turned to the board behind her. "As most of you know, we all have magical power within us. It is what fuels us and allows us to use magic. Without it, we would die…" Lucy tried taking diligent notes until she saw a piece of paper being shoved onto her desk from Natsu's outstretched hand. Curiously, Lucy carefully placed her pencil down on the table and unfolded the white lined paper scrap. It read, in horrible hand writing:

 _Two classes together! Woohoo!_

Lucy smiled a bit at Natsu's enthusiasm and responded with a simple smiley face and passed it back to Natsu's desk. After the interaction, he was quiet and Lucy enjoyed learning more about how to hone in on her own magical power. Mira explained how, by the end of the semester, she was going to teach them how to use their own magical power to do some simple transformation magic, like what she started off with. The class ended shortly after that and Lucy stretched her arms out in front of her, heaving a sigh of relief; she was done with classes for the day.

"So, what are you up to now?" Natsu's voice interrupted her thoughts and she snapped her head up to look at him.

"Oh, I'm done with classes for now. It's nice to get out so early!" Lucy sighed contently and Natsu smirked.

"Me too! How have you liked it here so far anyways?" He asked as Lucy gathered up her backpack and the pair headed towards the door.

"It's been great! Levy and everyone have been so helpful, I don't know what I would be doing without you guys! Probably holed up in my dorm and wandering around lost on campus." Lucy laughed and Natsu snorted.

"I'm sure you woulda' done fine, but we're all happy to help!" He smiled down at her widely, the corners of his eyes crinkling ever so slightly.

"Thanks, and thank you all for inviting me into your guild… You all have such a special bond. It's an honor to be a part of it." Lucy replied quietly and Natsu stared out in front of them as they exited the Battle Dome.

"We're all happy to have you, ya know. I think it means somethin' special that Erza accepted you so quickly, so I wouldn't worry! You're nice and I think that everyone can see that, so you're part of our family now, okay?" Natsu grinned down at her and Lucy could feel tears begin to fill her eyes. _Ugh, I'm such a crybaby. By the end of the semester I'll have cried in front of everyone in Fairy Tail!_ "H-hey, why are you crying?" Natsu yelped out in alarm and Lucy laughed lightly.

"Don't mind me, it's just something I do. I've been a little emotional lately. It's just… It's nice to have a family… It's nice to have people that accept me so wholeheartedly." Lucy explained and Natsu looked down at her for a long moment before speaking.

"It sounds like you've had a hard time too." His voice was quiet and his eyes looked faraway as he spoke to her. She explained to him how her father had died not too long before she came to Magnolia University, and how her mother had passed when she was very young.

"I guess you all are really the first _real_ friends I've had… Pretty pathetic, right?" Lucy chuckled bleakly and Natsu shook his head.

"Not at all. If Gramps hadn't have found me, I'd probably be dead somewhere. I'm lucky to be here too." He smiled and Lucy's heart squeezed in sympathy. "You belong in Fairy Tail just like the rest of us!"

"Thank you, Natsu." Lucy whispered out almost inaudibly, but Natsu nodded his head with a slight smirk on his face. Lucy found herself allowing Natsu to lead her to wherever he was going and found herself back at Fairy Tail.

"If ya don't have too much work, wanna come to the guild hall?" Natsu questioned and Lucy nodded her head.

"I'd love too! I'm supposed to meet Levy here fairly soon anyways for dinner." Lucy informed him.

"Great!" Natsu cheered and flung open the door to Fairy Tail. The place was still as messy as ever and Lucy wondered when Erza was bound to come in and yell at them to get their act together. Lucy tripped on a stray backpack causing beer and soda cans to rattle across the floor. The smell of damp cardboard and old pizza hit her airway like a brick and she resisted the urge to cover her nose. Correction, the frat house had seemingly gotten _worse_ since the previous day Lucy had been there.

"U-uh, sorry for the mess…" Natsu grimaced slightly after seeing the obvious disgust on Lucy's face.

"I-it's okay." Lucy laughed awkwardly as she finally made her way across the lounge area and down the hall to where the stairs leading to the guild hall were. As they moved further away from the main part of the house, the stench subsided and Lucy allowed herself some deep breath in. She followed Natsu down an identical set of stairs that Fairy Girls' had, and made her way out into the openness of the hall. There were more people down there than she thought and Lucy wondered just how many people were in the guild, it was seemingly endless.

"Hey! I didn't summon you!" Lucy instinctively protested and Loke looked at the pair of them reproachfully.

"What's got you so riled up, Natsu? And hello, beautiful. I'm here using my own magic, don't worry." Loke grinned and Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, why the hell do _you_ get to be part of the girl's initiation, huh?" Natsu folded his arms across his chest, his vest hanging just wide enough for Lucy to get a good look at his toned stomach. _Oh my god, stop looking! You're being creepy!_ Lucy shook her head and watched as the conversation unfolded.

"Didn't you hear my beautiful lady Lucy? I'm a celestial spirit and _very_ close to my celestial wizard." Loke winked at Lucy making her blood boil in annoyance.

"Waddaya mean?" Natsu asked, dumbfounded and Loke scoffed a bit.

"Lucy's a celestial mage, I'm one of her spirits. During her initiation she summoned me. I just _happen_ to be part of Fairy Tail as well, and just _happened_ to never mention the fact that I'm not human." Loke grinned and Natsu's frown deepened.

"What the hell? That's not cool man! I knew you smelled weird."

"Smelled?" Lucy squeaked out and looked at Natsu wearily after his peculiar comment.

"Relax, man. You know the ladies love me anyways, I was welcomed." Loke snickered and Lucy frowned.

"Yeah, I don't think that's how it went down!" Lucy retorted and his smirk faltered a bit.

"Tell me what goes on in there!" Natsu demanded and Lucy sighed and walked over to the bar just in time to see Mira coming in through the girl's entrance. Cana was in her usual spot chugging a frosty mug of beer, and Lucy took the seat next to her big curiously. She secretly wondered if Cana even went to her classes; Lucy supposed she _had_ to, she was a senior after all.

"Whew! What a day." Mira sighed and plopped her belongings behind the counter. "I see you've helped yourself Cana."

"Yep, and I ain't sorry." Cana finished off the yellow liquid in a few swift gulps letting out a loud ' _ah_!' and slammed the glass down on the bar top. "What's up, Lucy? How are you doing?"

"I've been good! I met your dad yesterday." Lucy told Cana who rolled her eyes, though there was a hint of affection in her actions.

"I'm surprised the old man even showed up to class." Cana snorted and Lucy let out another awkward chuckle. "So, if you ever need anything, you know I'll always be there to help! Want a beer?" Cana offered as Mira topped off the older girl's glass.

"N-no thanks, I'm okay! Maybe another time. Levy said she'd be here soon so we could eat dinner, you're welcome to join us!" Lucy invited and Cana smiled.

"Sure thing, sweet cheeks! Where is that blue haired short stack anyways?" Cana slurred her words slightly as she swung around in her chair to scan the hall. Just then, Levy's familiar figure entered the hall, Jet and Droy trailing her. She happily waved her hand when she saw Lucy seated at the bar, and smiled while bounding over.

"I'll catch you guys late, kay?" Levy promised the two boys behind her, who pointed, but nodded in agreement. Lucy thought it was funny how infatuated Jet and Droy were with her roommate, and she thought it was too bad that they didn't know they didn't have a chance with the solid script mage; they were nice guys. "Hey, Lu! Cana and Mira!" Levy nodded to the girls and Lucy smiled widely at her friend. Lucy's eyes scanned over the hall behind her and noticed even more members had filled up the tables as the day was winding down. Natsu was somehow still arguing with Loke and she shook her head at her problematic celestial spirit.

"What's got Natsu all worked up?" Cana followed Lucy's gaze and commented on the pink haired boy's heated attitude.

"He's mad that Loke got in on my initiation." Lucy snorted a bit and Cana snickered.

"Jealousy." Cana smirked into the bottom of her glass as she sipped her drink.

"Natsu, quit being such an idiot!" Gray's deeper voice called as he entered the hall.

"They don't take their time when it comes to fighting each other, do they?" Lucy commented, a small smile playing on her lips.

"No, they do not." Levy agreed and Mira shook her head.

"They're going to be in for it… What can I get you guys for food anyways?" Mira asked with a smile and Lucy wondered what she meant, only for a moment however. Laxus' large form entered from the boy's side of the hall and stormed up to the three arguing boys which had quickly turned into just Gray and Natsu in fisticuffs.

"You two again!" Laxus growled and the pair froze.

"Laxus!" The two cried in faux happiness and Lucy rolled her eyes at the pair. In that moment, Erza came down the stairs from the other side of the hall, her arms rested on her hips authoritatively.

"Problem, boys?"

"Nope, not a single one!" Gray and Natsu yelped and slung their arms over each other in mock friendship. Erza placed one final glare at the two before making her way over to the bar as well.

"You two… You're really pissin' me off." Laxus growled in their faces. "Initiation is this Saturday, if you guys can't get it together this week then I'll sic Erza on you, and then Gramps." Laxus turned away from them before they had a chance to respond, his coat swishing out dramatically behind him. "Those damn idiots. I can't believe the old man dumped em' on me."

"Now now, you knew what you were going to have to do." Mira's soft voice responded and she pinched the man's cheek affectionately. Lucy had a pretty good idea that Mira was the only one that was allowed to do that to Laxus.

"Yeah, well…" Laxus trailed off and Mira giggled as she placed food in front of Lucy and Levy.

"This is really good!" Lucy exclaimed taking a bite of the smoked salmon and steamed vegetables Mira had given her.

"Mira's a great cook." Laxus praised his girlfriend and Mira smiled broadly. "I _do_ have help from the Thunder Legion. You know Freed works hard in the kitchen with me!"

"What's the Thunder Legion? A-and who's Freed?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Geez, so many questions." Laxus grumped and Lucy gulped and looked at him apologetically. "I'm just kiddin' blondie." He barked out what sounded like a laugh and Lucy let out a small, nervous chuckle. _You're blonde too…_

"The Thunder Legion is a team in Fairy Tail made up of Laxus, Evergreen, Freed, and Bickslow. Freed is the one with the long green hair over there!" Mira pointed out and Lucy followed her guidance and saw the boy she was talking about seated with the girl that Erza had had pinned on the floor the other night. Another boy with a knight's mask and his tongue hanging out sat with them, enjoying each other's company. "They're very loyal to each other and are one of the strongest teams in Fairy Tail!"

"Yeah, they're all right I suppose…" Laxus grunted, but a smirk played on his lips as he looked at his teammates fondly.

"Freed helps me cook and prepare food when he's not in class." Mira smiled and gestured to the dinners the girls were eating.

"It's great-" Lucy stopped short after feeling something wet drip onto her arm. "What the?" Happy hovered over her making her yelp in surprise. The cat was drooling on her arm and eyeing her salmon longingly.

"It looks so yummy…" He dreamily replied and Lucy frantically wiped her arm off.

"Ew, get out of here, cat! This is _my_ dinner!" She protested and Levy leaned away from Lucy's swiping hands. "Get your own!"

"Natsu, Lucy's being mean again!" Happy wailed over his shoulder and Mira giggled.

"You know Happy; I can give you your own fish."

"Really!" Happy rebounded quickly and landed himself on top of the bar; Lucy guarded her plate wearily.

"Why are you bein' mean to Happy?" Natsu trotted over, having forgotten about Loke and Gray.

"I am not! He was drooling on my arm and trying to steal my food!" Lucy protested and Natsu scoffed.

"You could share!"

"And he could get his own food!"

"That's mean!"

"Is not!"

"Geez, you two didn't waste any time to start bickering either." Cana observed and Lucy frown. "Sexual tension perhaps?"

"NO!" Lucy and Natsu both barked out and Mira's eyes sparkled in delight.

"How _interesting_! I knew it would only be a matter of time, but this soon…"

"Mira…" Levy warned in a low voice, but the barmaid just started off dreamily. Lucy had a feeling it was going to be a long semester as she averted her eyes from Mira, and batted away Happy's wandering paw towards her plate.

Natsu's POV

Natsu had had a long day, in his opinion, and was looking to relax at Fairy Tail before having to head back with Happy to their dorm. He was thrilled that he was finally going to be able to have his initiation; it was more so that he was excited to see what Laxus had planned for them rather than the prospect of them being accepted- he knew they were already honorary members of the guild. Besides, there was no way that Gramps would just refuse them a place in Fairy Tail, that would be bullshit; he had been a member ever since her was a kid. Laxus just liked to be a dick and drag everything out to watch him suffer. After the night in the guild hall, he made his way back up to the lounge in Fairy Tail and kicked back on the big couch and flipped on the entertainment lacrima. He flicked through the channels while other guys filtered in to do various activities and talk with each other about their day's events.

"Alright everyone, I just want you all to know that Natsu Dragneel is officially the biggest douche that has step foot through Fairy Tail's door." Gray's voice drifted in from the hallway and into the lounge.

"We already knew that!" Came a response from somewhere and Natsu whipped his head around to meet Gray.

"What the fuck, are you trying to start another fight ya prick?" Natsu snapped and Gray chortled.

"No, I'm just stating the facts, you're a dick." Gray stated bluntly and Loke snickered.

"We already knew that, but what ever did our little Natsu do this time?"

"I swear to god, if you got a chick pregnant…" Laxus griped and placed a hand to his forehead in distress.

"Wha- like hell I did!" Natsu roared out in objection and Gray's loud laughter filled the room.

"So, what'd he do then?" Max questioned.

"Yeah, _I'd_ like to know what _I_ did that was so wrong." Natsu pouted and Happy dropped down on the back of the sofa behind him.

"Don't worry, I've got your back!" The little blue cat flexed his paws, in an artificial fighting stance.

"Thanks buddy."

"What Natsu did was invite Lucy to be his teammate with him and Happy." Gray announced and ' _oohs_ ' sounded throughout the room.

"Who the hell cares?"

"You're not even a full member yet…" Laxus sighed and shook his head.

"It matters because you _just_ met her. You didn't even give the rest of us a chance to get to know her or invite her to team up with us." Gray countered and Natsu snorted.

"That's not my problem! You've never worked in a team before anyways, why start now?" Natsu retorted and Gray glared back.

"Yeah, well maybe I would've! It's not like you and Happy ever work with anyone else! There should be a sign on your door that says 'does not work well with others'. I feel bad for Lucy!"

"It was _her_ choice and she _chose_ to accept my offer!" Natsu leapt to his feet in defense and faced Gray fully. "It's not my problem if you're mad!"

"You guys should have _seen_ him in combat yesterday! As soon as Gildarts put the offer up for someone to be Lucy's partner, Natsu was all like 'ooh! I'll do it, I'll do it!'." Gray imitated him poorly only making Natsu more pissed off.

"What's your problem, man?" Natsu huffed and folded his arms in front of him.

"I don't have a problem; it just sounds like you've taken a liking to the new girl. Just admit it." Gray smirked and Natsu was taken aback.

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, it's not like Natsu would _actually_ know the difference between being partnered with a boy or a girl." Jet snorted and was met by a chorus of guffaws.

"Why the hell does it matter. So we have a new member; if you guys are gonna fight over it, I'll go talk to Erza and ban either one of you from partnering with her." Laxus warned.

"No fairy! Lucy's nice!" Happy protested and Natsu clamped his mouth shut.

"Don't you two worry, Lucy's closest with me anyways. I don't think she'll get in the way of your… whatever relationship you guys have." Loke snickered and Natsu's fist clenched.

"Whatever you guys wanna think, I don't give a shit. Lucy's a member of Fairy Tail now and that means she's everyone's friend. I didn't do anything wrong and it's not my problem if Gray is all butt hurt because I asked her first." Natsu glared at the ice mage who looked at him with a cocky smirk.

"Geez, calm down Natsu. I was just trying to get a rise out of you. Guess it worked." Gray snickered and Natsu shouldered past him.

"Whatever, I'm outta here."


	8. Panty Raid

The rest of the week went by without hindrance for Lucy. Her professors were nice for the most part and she thought she had some interesting classes. Fairy Tail continued to treat her like she had always been part of their family and Lucy felt incredibly grateful to be able to have met her new friends. That being said, she was happy to finally be able to relax for the weekend; she had no Friday classes and was just finishing up with Mira's class for the day, Natsu seated next to her once again. As Mira dismissed the class, Lucy heaved out a sigh of relief; though she didn't have much work, college had turned out to be more exhausting than she had imagined. The prospect of the weekend was all too sweet and Lucy was excited to see what kind of festivities Fairy Tail had in store.

"Ready?" Natsu asked after standing up from his desk. He had started to make it a habit to wait for Lucy and walk out with her in the couple classes that they had together. Lucy didn't mind it whatsoever, Natsu was her friend, the only thing that she was worried about was the fact that people may get the wrong idea. Lucy wasn't full of herself, but she had seen a few guys eyeing her and had had a few good conversations in her other classes that. However, it seemed as though they backed off whenever she was with him. Lucy brushed it off and smiled up at Natsu, she wasn't going to worry about something as trivial as that too much.

"Yep!" She hopped up gathering her things from under her chair and walked out, bidding Mira a farewell until later. Happy met up with them outside of the classroom excitedly; the little cat wasn't able to take classes, nor was he interested in them, but he was glad that he finally had some more time over the weekend to hang out with his guild.

"Natsu! Lucy!" Happy called and stopped to float in between either of their heads.

"Hey buddy! What'd you do today?" Natsu asked.

"Ate fish!" Happy replied proudly and puffed out his tiny chest.

"Sounds like a productive day…" Lucy chuckled lightly and shook her head slightly.

"Aye! It was! I ate _so_ many yummy fish, but now I'm too full!" Happy cried out and rubbed his bulged out belly. "Don't tell Mira I went in the kitchen by myself…"

"Happy!" Lucy protested with a laugh and Natsu flashed a toothy grin.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her!" Natsu chuckled and Lucy shook her head again.

"So, your initiation is this Saturday I heard." Lucy started and Natsu seemingly perked up even more than he already was.

"Oh yeah! Finally! Laxus was bein' a real dic- I mean, he wasn't bein' too fair, heh." Natsu rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly and Lucy laughed.

"You know; it's not like I've never heard someone use foul language before." She smirked up at Natsu matter-of-factly. "Don't worry, I'll get used to your vulgar mouth."

"Hey are you insultin' me?" Natsu gasped in faux shock making Lucy giggle.

"Well, _have_ you heard yourself? You all have no filter!" Lucy laughed and Natsu grinned.

"It ain't my fault, it just slips!"

"Yeah, _sure_. I think you're just an ill-mannered boy." Lucy stuck her tongue out at Natsu scowled down at her.

"Well, _I_ think you're a weirdo!" Natsu shot back.

"Is that so?" Lucy smirked darkly. "I'll just have to tell Erza you're being mean to _me_!" Lucy ran faster as they neared the two Fairy Tail houses hearing Natsu's yelp of a protest. He chased after her, but she made it to Fairy Girls just in time to slam the door in Natsu's face and look at him through the peephole.

"Lucy!" Natsu whined behind the door and she stifled a giggle. "You're gonna get me in trouble! I was just kidding, I don't think you're a weirdo _all_ the time!"

"Sorry, Natsu. It's a price you'll have to pay for being rude!" Lucy huffed at him in fake anger only to see he pout, Happy floating beside her. "I gotta go!" Lucy slid the peephole shut and turned quickly around only to jump in surprise seeing the other girls behind her looking at her curiously.

"You and Natsu, eh? Gettin' pretty chummy?" Cana smirked behind a mug of beer and Lucy looked at her in confusion.

"Huh?"

"What has Natsu done to you? Is he causing you trouble?" Erza growled and folded her arms across her chest, her armor clanking slightly as she shifted. "I'll have to punish him…" She seemed to ponder the thought, looking all too excited about causing Natsu pain.

"N-no, no! We were just joking…" Lucy stammered out a nervous laugh. "There's no need for punishment!"

"Lu!" Levy burst through the door and called to Lucy. "Was that you and Natsu that just ran by? Look at you two; team mates and friends so quickly! How sweet!" Levy smiled and Lucy's cheeks burned.

"I'd say it's only a matter of time before they start becoming even _closer_." Cana winked at Lucy causing her to fidget under the brunette's gaze.

"I-it's not like that! Sheesh!" Lucy retorted and Evergreen snorted a bit.

"Come on, Lucy. You're all too obvious about all of this." The older girl stated and Lucy frowned.

"We've known each other for less than a week! And you all warned me Mira was bad; you're just as bad if not worse! Can't we just be friends without being reprimanded?" Lucy pouted in defiance and Levy rubbed her arm comfortingly.

"You're right, Lucy. We're sorry." Levy chuckled and Lucy was happy to see that the girls went back to doing whatever they were doing before she arrived.

"Alzack asked me out on a date!" Bisca suddenly burst out and Erza's eyes lit up.

"Is that so? Hm, it's about time in my opinion." She chuckled and Lucy smiled.

"That's great, Bisca!" Lucy cheered and Bisca's face flushed in embarrassment.

"You two are so cute together! He's totally head over heels for you." Levy snickered and Evergreen tutted in approval.

"I knew Alzack was the only one who was man enough to actually do something. Well done." Evergreen smiled, her glasses slipping ever so slightly down her nose.

"Don't let Elfman hear you say that; he'd be awfully upset that you don't think he's as manly as Alzack." Levy laughed and Evergreen blushed slightly.

"That oaf… He preaches about being _manly_ , but I've yet to see himself prove it!" Evergreen countered looking slightly flustered.

"Between you and I, I think Evergreen has a crush on Elfman." Levy whispered in Lucy's ear causing her to giggle.

"What was that?" Evergreen snarled and Levy pretended not to hear her.

"Well, that's great for you two! Better tell Mira sooner or later or she'll be all over ya for details." Cana advised and Bisca nodded, her long green hair swaying slightly. "And just remember, the walls are thin around here so keep that in mind when you guys get freaky." Cana winked and Bisca looked mortified.

"It's just a date!"

 _Natsu's POV_

"Alright you little shits. It's initiation time." Laxus growled out. Friday and the better part of Saturday flew by for Natsu and now he couldn't stop fidgeting around. He was too excited about _finally_ becoming a full member of Fairy Tail. Laxus stood at the front of the common area with Freed and Bickslow and some of the older members of Fairy Tail and stared down Natsu, Gray, Jet, and Droy. "We've created a suitable test to see if you're man enough to be a full member. If you don't complete it by the end of the night, then you'll just have to wait until I feel like holding another initiation ceremony, and you'll be dubbed 'little bitches' for not finishing." Droy squirmed uncomfortably under Laxus' stare, but Natsu felt adrenaline pumping through him; he was ready for anything.

"So, what do we gotta do?" Gray inquired and Laxus smirked.

"Glad you asked. Firstly, we're gonna have a little bit of fun so, drink up boys." Laxus gestured to a table, being revealed by Bickslow, that had bottles and bottles of assorted alcohol.

"You're… Getting us drunk?" Gray questioned cautiously and Bickslow cackled.

"We're gonna have a wicked time tonight!" Bickslow seemingly promised.

"Wicked! Wicked!" His babies chanted as they floated around his helmeted head.

"But why?" Jet asked and Laxus rolled his eyes.

"What's the matter, scared of a little booze?"

"N-no!" Jet stammered out and Natsu sighed.

"Whatever, let's get this started." Natsu went over to the table and grabbed one of the bottles without looking and chugged it. It was like acidic fire down his through, and no, he did not enjoy eating this fire. "This tastes like shit." Gray followed suit and lastly Jet and Droy. Gradually the other boys joined in and the house soon was filled with enthusiastic chatter. Natsu didn't drink often so when he did it got to him pretty quickly, but he wouldn't admit it too easily.

"Alright, listen up!" Laxus clapped his hands, and the four pledges looked at him intently. Natsu was a little unsteady on his feet; the other guys had kept making them drink until they were good and tipsy. Natsu was a little pissed because he liked to be in control, but he was doing his best to be attentive. "Drunk fight." That was all Laxus said and Natsu looked at him in confusion until he felt Gray's fist come into contact with his jaw.

"What the hell?!" Natsu exclaimed and then realized what Laxus' words meant. He smirked devilishly at Gray and lit his fists on fire. "Okay, I got you."

"Are you sure that this is a smart idea doing this indoors? There's certainly a lot of alcohol around and Natsu is virtually a human torch." Freed pointed out and Laxus shrugged.

"Don't worry so much, I'll have them onto the next section soon enough." Natsu swung at Gray's head who managed to stumble backwards and dodge it only to fall backwards onto his ass. Natsu then landed a kick into Gray's gut making him let out an ' _oof!_ ' and fling into one of the couches.

"You douche! That was a cheap shot!" Gray snarled and staggered back to his feet sending shards of ice towards Natsu. Natsu leapt out of the way, but a chip managed to slice across his left bicep making Natsu scowl at Gray.

"Fire dragon's roar!" Natsu hissed out a stream of fire towards Gray and it hit the table of alcohol bottles causing it to boom into a small explosion. The fire sprinklers, heavy duty ones put in after Natsu came to Magnolia U, went off to douse the flames that were licking across the wall.

 _Momentary POV from Fairy Girls…._

Erza snapped her book shut and looked up from her spot where she was curled under a lamp.

"What's wrong, Erza?" Levy queried and Erza's eyebrow twitched.

"I have a strong sense that ass-hattery is going on next door and I have a feeling a lot of it has to do with Natsu."

 _Natsu's POV_

"C'mon Jet, Droy, get in there or you're not gonna make it through initiation!" Laxus snapped at the two boys who were just looking dubiously at the sight unfolding before them. Natsu halfheartedly through a flame in their direction the same time Gray hurled an attack at them, and Jet dashed out of the way. He glared at the two and sped towards them slamming both Natsu and Gray with a hard fist.

"That had some merit to it." Gray commented with a smirk and Droy huffed up to them.

"I'm hungry though…" Droy groaned and Natsu rolled his eyes and set his shin into the side of Droy's large abdomen.

"Alright, alright- before you destroy the entire house, onto the next part you bastards!" Laxus shouted above the chaos and the fighting stopped as quickly as it had started. "For you last and final mission," Laxus paused dramatically and Freed almost looked as if he was incredibly embarrassed while Bickslow just stood there chuckling darkly. "Panty raid for you pathetic horn-dogs."

"A what?" Natsu screwed up his face while the other three looked horrified.

"You all can thank Bickslow for that." Laxus gestured to his teammate who looked proudly at the boys, and giving them a dramatic bow.

"Well, you'll have to thank Wakaba and Macao as well. Was talkin' to them the other night in the guild hall, they sure know how to pick some risky stuff." Bickslow's tongue lolled out of his mouth as he threw his head back in laughter.

"Y-you want us to…" Gray stammered out and Laxus snickered darkly.

"I'll assign you a girl and you gotta go figure out a way to steal one pair of their underwear."

"Are ya freakin' kidding me?!" Natsu burst out. "That's insane!"

"That's freakin' MANLY!" Elfman called out and Natsu placed a glare on the hulking man.

"Isn't that kinda like… A privacy thing?" Natsu asked slowly, the alcohol making his tongue slow. Laxus just rolled his eyes.

"Look, if you _want_ to be a little bitch, then don't do the mission." Laxus shrugged and Natsu frowned at the carpet, that was slightly burnt from earlier, beneath his feet. "If not, then listen up." Laxus raised his voice so all four boys were at attention.

"Are you sure this is proper…?" Freed fretted, his cheeks slightly flushed from embarrassment of the mission. "I find it hard to believe that Mira would approve…"

"Tch… What she doesn't know won't hurt her…" Laxus hissed back through gritted teeth, and his face betrayed his terror of what Mira might do to him if she found out. "Okay boys, I'll make it easy for ya. Most of the girls are next door right now, so the chance of you runnin' into one of em' is low." Laxus pointed out.

"But you don't know when they'll be leavin'…. Heh." Bickslow snickered and Droy gulped audibly.

"Jet, Droy, your target will be Levy, _you're welcome_." Laxus smirked and the pair looked horrified.

"Levy would never look at us the same if she found out we stole her underwear!" Jet yelped and Droy's eyes popped out of his head.

"T-touching L-Levy's… Underwear..?" Droy stammered and Laxus continued on.

"Gray and Natsu, since you two have been at each other's throats because of this new chick, go get some of Lucy's underwear." Laxus winked devilishly and Natsu's heartbeat hammered in his chest.

"What?!" Natsu protested, "No way! This is so pervy!"

"Yeah… My thing is to _not_ have underwear on, not to go _steal_ underwear…" Gray agreed, his words slurring slightly.

"Okay, little bitches, if you don't want to continue-" Laxus began, but was interrupted.

"Alright, fine!" Natsu growled out, "Let's go." Laxus smirked and Natsu glared up at him.

"Great, you have thirty minutes."

"Oh for fuck's sake!"

* * *

The four boys were headed, as quickly as their drunken bodies would take them, to Lucy and Levy's dorm. Luckily, they lived together, the hard part was getting in without being seen or heard. That was rather hard considering they were stumbling around, and Droy was breathing heavier than usual.

"I think they're all still in Fairy Girls…" Jet informed them. "A-at least I think I never saw em' leave."

"Great, I don't really care about chatting, let's just get there." Gray grumbled as they finally reached the dorms. They group had to make it to the top floor without making much of a racket otherwise the RA would hear them.

"Can you be quieter!" Jet hissed back at Droy who was puffing his way up the stairs.

"S-sorry, just… A lot… Of steps…" He wheezed back.

"We're not coverin' for ya if you can't keep up! We only got thirty minutes and I ain't goin' through another initiation again!" Natsu growled, tripping on the top step slightly and having to steady himself with the railing. "Fucking hell."

When they reached the third and final floor, Natsu and Gray peered out down the hall. The RA for the hall, Minerva, was busy chatting with her friends, and some of Fairy Tail's rivals, Sting and Rogue. They watched them, as they talked to each other, round the corner and out of sight. Natsu breathed a sigh of relief and checked his phone, they had fifteen more minutes.

"Let's go." Gray ordered and they rushed over to room _313_. Natsu stifled a giggle as he thought of the time that Lucy had complained about how she was _cursed_ , and that _of course_ her dorm had the number thirteen in it. "Oi! Wipe that stupid grin off your face and focus!" Natsu growled out a sigh and shouldered past Gray.

"How are we gonna get in?" Droy huffed out and Natsu grinned widely.

"I'm sure if I heat it up enough, the handle will just melt off!" Natsu snickered and Gray shoved him away from the door forcefully. "Hey!"

"Oh, what a fuckin' great idea! Melt their door, they'll never know we were here!" Gray spat sarcastically and Natsu just glared knowing that he had a point. "No, we'll use this," Gray smirked cockily and produced a keycard made of ice. "A replica of the girl's key."

"Creep! How many times have you done that?" Natsu protested and Gray frowned at him.

"Wha- This is the first time, asshole!"

"Sure, you just _happened_ to be able to make it just now!"

"I'm an ice _make_ wizard, ya idiot!"

"Hey! You both are idiots! We have like ten minutes, let's go!" Jet informed them and Natsu and Gray turned their glares on him.

"As if you two have been any help!"

Gray hastily shoved the icy keycard in the slot and, after holding their breath for what seemed like ages, the door, surprisingly, popped open.

"I don't even know how that worked with the mechanics, but let's fuckin' go boys." Natsu creaked the door open and was happy to be met with the stale scents of Lucy and Levy. "They're not here yet."

"Great." Gray answered flatly and flung through the doorway followed by Jet and Droy. Levy's two partners quickly made it to her dresser and opened one drawer, plucking out a pair of blue underwear. "Seems like you guys already knew where to look." Gray commented, eyeing the pair suspiciously.

"Yeah, right!" Jet retorted, and at the same time, Droy responded.

"Don't tell Levy!"

"Ugh, where is Lucy's shit?" Gray muttered and Natsu sniffed around.

"Here!" He cried triumphantly and pulled open one of the drawers under Lucy's bed. "Whoa…" Natsu's face flushed even more than it already was from the alcohol. "Whattaya even need this kinda underwear for?" Natsu commented pulling out a pair of frilly, red lace underwear.

"Aw geez! Don't analyze it! Grab it and let's go!" Gray practically wailed, his face redder than the underwear. Natsu felt dirty and as though he was betraying Lucy. He vowed to return the underwear at some point, without her knowing obviously, but she was _never ever_ to find out about it.

The boys made it back to Fairy Tail with a minute to spare, all huffing and out of breath from drunkenly sprinting across campus, Gray somehow losing his pants along the way. They presented the two pairs of underwear to Laxus, who scrutinized them with a glare.

"Well, I'm impressed boys." Laxus admitted and Natsu felt relief wash over him. "I guess you guys are in." Laxus gave a halfhearted smile. "But I mean it's not like Gramps woulda said no, so I guess this was all kinda pointless. Oh well!" Laxus cackled and Natsu's blood boiled under his skin.

" _Laxus!"_ The boys hissed and groaned. Jet and Droy fought over who was going to take Levy's underwear, and Natsu just shoved Lucy's into his back pocket hastily.

"Hey, are you okay?" Happy floated over to him worriedly, eyeing his back pocket suspiciously.

"Yeah, buddy, I'm good. Just tired, wanna go home?" Natsu asked, his eyes a little bleary as he read the ungodly time that his phone flashed up at him.

"Aye…"

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for not updating in so long, but I hope you enjoy this chapter! I will be continuing this, so please let me know how you're liking it so far and we'll see where this one goes! Thank you!**


	9. An Attack

_Lucy's POV_

Before Lucy knew it, almost a month had flown by at Magnolia University, and she was well acquainted with everyone in Fairy Tail. She was so happy to finally have some real friends and escape the life that she was once trapped in by her father. She could already feel herself getting stronger, her magic power a little more under control, and her spirits' power coursing through her veins. Everything was more perfect than she had ever thought it would be; she was getting along with her studies well, and she had had time here and there to work on her novel, which Levy was always hounding her about, but Lucy didn't mind. She was a full member of Fairy Girls, and Cana was a great mentor so far, letting her know all the events that were to happen in the guild, and setting a fairly good example of what alcohol can do to a person, but Lucy loved Cana either way.

Lucy made her way to the Battle Dome for Gildarts' class; she was really enjoying the combat portion of her training more than she thought she would. She was having fun with it, but deep down she was appreciating it because it allowed her the skill to protect herself and her friends if need be.

Lucy pushed open one of the large glass doors leading into the dome, heading down the long hall that opened out into the huge arena. Gildarts was standing in the center of the room as usual, arms crossed over his chest, and blue mats stacked by his feet. Some of the other students were filtering in eyeing the mats suspiciously as Lucy was doing as she waited for Natsu and Gray to arrive. She liked having the two boys in the class with her, not only did she have friends in the class, but they were also great teachers. They knew so much about magic and combat, Lucy knew that with them, and Gildarts, she was in good hands.

"Lucy!" A familiar voice called, and before Lucy had time to react, a blur of blue fur slammed into her chest, nuzzling into her neck.

"Hey, Happy!" Lucy greeted him; he played the part of their personal cheerleader during class. He liked watching Natsu train, and participated when he could during exercises.

"Yo!" Came Natsu's greeting, not far behind Happy's, as he and Gray walked across the lacquer floor, a bright smile plastered on Natsu's face.

"Hey!" Lucy called, one hand waving, the other supporting Happy as he sat snuggled against her chest. Her heart fluttered once again as Natsu gave her his signature toothy grin. She shoved the feeling down, trying to ignore the blush that was threatening to appear, and attempted to compose herself.

"What's up, Lucy?" Gray asked casually. "You and Levy have had your noses crammed into so many books lately that we haven't really had a chance to hangout at the guild."

"Well, midterms _are_ right around the corner." Lucy giggled slightly and Gray ran a hand through his hair.

"A-ahh... Right."

"Don't tell me you two have forgotten?" Lucy joked, but when the two in front of her looked away sheepishly, she placed her hands authoritatively on her hips. "You guys! They're next week, you need to get studying!"

"Eh, I'll be fine! It'll be a breeze, magic is easy." Natsu waved her concerns away, but she placed a pointed stare at him.

"And what about your other classes?"

"Er... You'll... Help me?" Natsu grinned down at her and she rolled her eyes at him playfully.

"Right... We'll see about that one, buddy. Maybe I'll just have to go tell Erza." The two boys looked at her in horror, and Lucy stifled a giggle that was threatening to burst from her throat.

"Alright, listen up everyone! Stop flirting, time for class," Gildarts clapped his hands, gave a playful stare at the trio making Lucy's cheeks burn in embarrassment, and then continued. "Today we will be focusing on hand to hand combat. I know, this is a magical combat class, I get it. But everyone can benefit from some fighting skills you know. Magic isn't fool proof, you can run out of magical power or someone can overpower you, and you'll need combat skills." He explained and then gestured to the blue mats by his feet. "I want you to get into pairs, grab a mat, and just practice what you know. I'll be around to help and to give you some other moves you can pracitce."

"Looks like I'll be finding my own partner then." Gray mumbled to them, and Lucy felt a bit awkward; he always went off on his own when Gildarts put them in pairs. Natsu and Lucy were always left to be together by Gray, and Lucy just felt bad about the whole thing. She wasn't complaining that she and Natsu were always paired up, it was just... Odd.

"O-okay, Gray." Lucy stammered out and Natsu smiled down at her.

"We're a team, it's best we stick together anyways." Natsu stated as if reading her mind.

"A-alright..." Lucy replied, following Natsu to swipe up a mat.

 _Natsu's POV_

"Why does _she_ always get to be with Natsu? It's not fair, Professor!" Natsu's ears picked up on a brown haired girl's voice as she whined in front of Gildarts who just stared down at her in confusion.

"Look, if you wanna be paired up with him then you gotta ask him... And if that doesn't work, duke it out with her, I don't know what to tell ya." Gildarts sighed and Natsu frowned as the girl shot daggers over her shoulder at Lucy. If Lucy noticed, she didn't pay much mind to it, but it made Natsu angry to say the least. When the girl saw that he was looking her way, her face turned from loathsome anger, to a bright smile. Natsu didn't return the greeting, he kept his expression cold, only turning to beam at Lucy as she walked to catch up with him. He was not going to be friendly with anyone who had a problem with his friends, let alone team mate.

"Kid, you have quite the fan group. I'm a little jealous." Gildarts stated as Natsu picked up a mat.

"What?" Natsu questioned in confusion and Gildarts tipped his head towards a group of girls that the brown haired one had gone to.

"I'm sure you heard..." Gildarts chuckled, "I think some are a little jealous of Lucy." He pointed out before Lucy was within earshot and Natsu stole a glance towards the girls, straining his ears to listen to their conversation.

"What kind of freak is she? She _just_ got here, had like no friends, and they just take her in?"

"Yeah, what makes her so special?"

"Fairy Tail is exclusive! I bet she slept with someone to get in..."

"Yeah, no wonder- look at the way she dresses. Her boobs are practically falling out of her top."

Natsu clenched his jaw together, his blood boiling beneath his skin as he listened to the girls go back and forth about Lucy. It was pissing him off, they knew nothing about Lucy and yet they were saying such awful things.

"Yeah, well, I don't give a shit about any of them. If they're gonna be assholes then I want no part of it." Natsu spat and Gildarts nodded.

"Fair enough, kid."

"Hey, what's wrong?" Lucy asked looking up at him in concern. "Are you alright?" Natsu composed himself and smiled down at her.

"Yep! Let's go!" Natsu replied hurriedly and ushered Lucy in the opposite direction of the girls bitching about her.

* * *

"Alright, so... I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you haven't had much physical training? Er, I mean fighting! Not like, exercise..." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment while Lucy covered a smile with her hand. "Anyways... I didn't mean you are fat or something..."

"I get it, Natsu." Lucy laughed and shook her head, "No, I haven't. But I do have a mean kick."

"Smooth, Natsu!" Happy giggled into his right ear, and Natsu turned to shoot daggers at his little blue friend.

"Shut it, Happy!" He hissed through clenched teeth and Happy just flew out of his reach, giggling like mad. Lucy watched the pair, a smile lingering on her lips, and her eyes watching Happy fly higher in the dome. "Right... So, we can start with some basics." Natsu motioned for her to step closer and she obliged, waiting for further instruction. "Okay, so we can start off with the legs. A good takedown move is a leg sweep where you just-" Natsu suddenly dropped, sliding his right leg out behind Lucy's legs, and gently nudged them so she'd lose her balance.

"H-hey!" She cried out, and Natsu held back a smile from her surprise. He caught her shoulders before she could fall further, her eyes wide in surprise. "No fair! I was totally not ready!"

"Oh, so are people you're in a fight with supposed to wait until you're prepared?" He teased and Lucy frowned as he helped her steady herself.

"I guess not... But that still was a dirty trick!" Natsu laughed and just shrugged at her expense.

"Another one I'd like to show you is: if you're grabbed from the front, like this," Natsu positioned himself in front of Lucy, placing his hands on her upper arms lightly, "They're trying to get a hold of you, trying to get the upper hand. So, you should grab them back, grab my arms." Natsu instructed and Lucy tentatively put her hands on his biceps. Natsu suddenly became self conscious; they were in such close proximity and touching each other, he could feel heat radiating up through his shirt and making its way across his face. "E-er, now please don't actually do this part, but what you'd do is grab them hard and bring your knee up to their, you know..." Natsu gestured to the crotch of his pants, and Lucy's face got red, but she nodded seriously.

"Got it!" She affirmed and Natsu released her arms, breathing out a sigh of relief to be able to step out of her space for a moment. _What's with me? Why am I so hot? I haven't even been moving that much_... Natsu shook his head in thought and tried to regain focus.

"Okay, moving on..."

* * *

 _Lucy's POV_

"Remember, the elbow is one of the strongest points on your body, so utilize it if you can." Natsu advised, standing before Lucy and gesturing to his own elbow. "You can use the heel of your palm to break someone's nose by-"

"Shoving it up into their brain?" Lucy finished, a smirk on her face as Natsu paused to absorb what she had said.

"Uh, yeah, that works!" Natsu laughed, running a hand through his spiky hair. Lucy tried to ignore how his shirt lifted up slightly so she could see the 'V' of his lower abdomen, and she tried to ignore the heat between them when Natsu was close while showing her different moves.

"Okay, I'm going to show you another useful one," Natsu started and walked behind Lucy. She eyed him, but didn't move, and he suddenly wrapped his arms around her torso, his own flush against her back. "Right... If someone grabs you like this and they try draggin' you off or somethin' shitty like that, try dropping your weight and use your elbow to hit em' in the side of the head." Natsu gently picked Lucy's right elbow up and guided it towards his right temple. His hair brushed the side of her face as she turned to look at where he was guiding her arm. For a moment, Lucy caught Natsu's gaze, his breath rustling the hair that was tucked behind her ear. She felt her face flush, Natsu let go of her elbow and stepped back, the pair momentarily silent.

"Er, yeah... And if that doesn't work, then try stomping real hard on their feet."

"You know a lot about all of this you know." Lucy replied after a moment, admiring his knowledge on the subject. "You're very smart." Natsu seemed surprised by her words, his demeanor becoming bashful, opposite of his usual attitude.

"Thanks, Luce." He grinned at her, and her fluttered again. "Not a lot of people tell me that..." Natsu whispered and Lucy was just barely able to catch his words that weren't meant for her to hear.

Training with Natsu always made her feel like they were in their own world; the rest of the class didn't exist. In that moment of happiness she felt, laughing with Natsu and Happy as they joked with each other, taking a break from exercises, she tried to ignore the burning glares she was receiving from the group of girls across the room. It had hurt her, earlier, hearing them talk about her as if she weren't right there. She had pretended not to notice, she didn't want Natsu to make a fuss, but she didn't like the thought of people not liking her.

Lucy sighed and pulled her hair up into its usual side ponytail. She opened her mouth to ask Natsu a question, but the battle dome doors flung open, hitting the inside wall of the hallway leading into the arena. The sound of hurried footsteps thundered on the floor, and as quickly as the doors open, Mira and Erza were standing in the arena, panting and wild eyed.

"Erza? Mira?" Lucy questioned, cocking her head in confusion. Both were not supposed to be in the battle dome at the time, Mira was supposed to be working and Erza was definitely supposed to be in class.

"Something's happened! It's Levy," Erza began, taking in breaths in between words.

"Come quickly! Sorry Gildarts!" Mira threw the man an apologetic look, but Gildarts was already running towards the pair of girls, along with Gray. Lucy practically sprinted across the room, Natsu and Happy alongside her.

"What happened?" Lucy gasped and Erza shook her head.

"We'll explain on the way to the infirmary." Erza replied tightly.

"Everyone, we're ending class early today, please stack your mats." Gildarts ordered the rest of the class who were whispering to each other, eyeing the group. "Fairy Tail is excused." He finished, nodding to the five, plus Happy, and then turning to hurry the class to finish. "I'll be in as soon as I can." Mira nodded and led the group running towards the door.

"There's been an attack," Mira began, her voice grim causing Lucy's heart to leap to her throat.


	10. Intruders

**A/N: Sorry for the delay! I had no power for like 4 days and also I'm a fulltime student, and have work… lol. So, thank you all who read this! Please look forward to more updates! I really hope you like this!**

* * *

"What happened?!" Lucy flung open the infirmary door, panic rising in her chest. Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Mira were on her heels and through the doors before they could close behind her. "Levy!" Lucy gasped as she saw her friend lying in a hospital bed, white sheets tucked tightly around her, and a sour-faced, pink haired woman standing by her bedside.

"Lucy!" Levy croaked out, her eyes a bit glazed and Lucy guessed she was probably on some sort of pain medication. "I _told_ them that I was alright." Levy placed an accusatory glare on Erza and Mira.

"A car _attacked_ you, how were we supposed to react?" Erza spluttered and Mira smiled apologetically realizing how ridiculous their wording had been.

"A-are you okay? What happened?" Lucy stammered noticing Levy's right leg propped up in a sling and wrapped tightly in a cast.

"She was hit by a car." A gruff voice answered from the other side of the white-walled room, and it was then that she noticed the gruff looking guy with the long black hair from her psychology class. "She's playin' it off a bit…" He grumped and fiddled with one of the many earrings in his ear.

"Yes, Juvia and Gajeel were walking to class, and someone lost control of their car. It went straight for her…" The sad looking blue haired girl that sat next to the said Gajeel in Lucy's class answered, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "Gajeel managed to pull her out of the way for the most part… But the car hit her leg."

"Holy shit, you were hit by a car?!" Gray exclaimed and rushed to Levy's bedside. The girl, Juvia, suddenly let out some sort of strangled cry, her big blue eyes landing on Gray's, now shirtless, form. "Are you okay?"

"Psh, I'm fine, Gray…" Levy's voice drawled out and she lazily waved her hand in the air. "Porlyusica fixed me up _real_ good…" The angry looking pink haired women huffed a bit and rolled her eyes.

"Is Cana okay?!" Gildarts suddenly burst through the doors, his eyes wildly looking around the room. Lucy nearly leapt out of her skin and Porlyusica shook her head angrily.

"Cana ain't even here, old man," Natsu scoffed and Gildarts frowned down at him. "It's Levy."

"Yes, yes, and Miss McGarden needs _rest_ and all that the lot of you is doing is causing a ruckus! Now, she will be fine, but please leave." Porlyusica ordered and Lucy nodded numbly sill in a state of shock of Levy being struck by a car. She watched as Gray and Juvia followed them out, Juvia looking at Gray fondly.

"You guys are in my psychology class," Lucy revealed and Gajeel just grunted in response. "Thank you so much for saving her." Lucy smiled appreciatively up at Gajeel.

"Yeah well… If she's gonna be that damn clumsy then someone's gotta look out for her." He sighed and Lucy bit back a smirk.

"Well, thanks. A-and thank you, Juvia was it?" Lucy directed her thanks at the blue haired girl who turned and eyed her suspiciously.

"What is your relationship with Gray-sama?" She demanded and Lucy was taken aback.

"E-er… What?"

"You must have romantic feelings for him! Love rival!" She hissed from where she was lurking behind Gray, who looked sufficiently creeped out.

"Th-that's not it!"

"Alright, I'm tired of this," Natsu huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Levy's safe so let's go back to the guild."

"Are you guys in a fraternity or sorority?" Mira asked sweetly as Natsu ushered them out of the infirmary.

"Let's go…" Natsu groaned and Lucy threw an apologetic smile at the pair before exiting the building.

* * *

"Man! I can't believe that happened! Glad she's okay though," Cana exclaimed from her seat next to Lucy at the bar.

"I'm glad you're okay, I was so worried!" Gilarts cooed as he hugged Cana tightly to his chest.

"Get outta here, old man! I wasn't even in trouble!"

"Getting called 'old man' twice in one day… That's got to hurt…" Lucy murmured as Cana shoved her father off of her and took a swig of her drink. "Still, I hope that there aren't any complications or anything… That's so scary…"

"Levy is in good hands with Porlyusica; she and Makarov have been friends for years. I'm sure she'll be out very soon!" Mira assured and Lucy relaxed a little.

"Yeah, there's no use in worryin' 'bout it! She's alive and that's all that matters!" Natsu grinned, lounging on the stool on the other side of Lucy.

"Aw, are you trying to cheer me up?" Lucy giggled and Natsu's ears turned a bit red as he looked away from her.

"Tch, no, just statin' the obvious." He denied and Lucy bit back a giggle while Mira's eyes widened a bit and she sucked in a small gasp.

"Hm…" Mira hummed out eyeing the pair suspiciously, and Lucy tried to ignore the blush that was creeping onto her cheeks.

"Well, I'm glad that that Gajeel fellow was there to help. Juvia seemed nice as well." Erza stated and Gray blanched.

" _Nice_?! She was creepy! I think she smelled me!" He yelped. Before the group could respond, the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs on the boys' side of the guild distracted them. The dean, Makarov, was making his way towards the bar with Laxus striding next to him.

"Gramps!" Natsu exclaimed in surprise, and Erza straightened her clothing out a bit and turned to greet him.

"What brings you down here, Master?"

"I'm glad you asked, Erza! I've come to introduce you to your new guild mates," He explained and Lucy looked at him in puzzlement. "I heard about Levy, I'm glad the little one is okay. I took it upon myself to invite these two," He and Laxus stepped aside to reveal Gajeel and Juvia, "To join the guild! I figured that you wouldn't mind, Erza. I talked to Laxus already to allow Gajeel to join Fairy Tail, but I figured it would be okay for Juvia to join Fairy Girls."

"Of course!" Erza exclaimed happily smiling at the pair.

" _Of course_?!" Gray cried out in protest, but it seemed largely unnoticed.

"Wah, Gray-sama and Juvia will be in the same fraternity!"

"You'll be in with us in Fairy Girls, Juvia!" Mira explained and smiled sweetly at the girl. "But this is the guild, so welcome!"

"I figured since they did such a wonderful job helping save Levy, they deserved a place here." Makarov finished, nodding to the group, and turned making his leave.

"Hey, old man, I didn't even wanna come here!" Gajeel protested and Laxus whacked him in the back of the head. "The hell?!" He growled and Laxus glared down at him, actually taller than the hulking boy in front of them.

"Shut up." Laxus warned and stalked away muttering, "Can't believe I have another idiot to deal with…"

"Er, well it's nice to have you guys then!" Lucy greeted them cheerily and Juvia stared daggers at her while Gray did his best to not be obvious about the fact that he was using her as a human shield against Juvia. "Coward!" Lucy hissed behind her.

"Gray, your clothes." Cana sighed and Gray yelped once again, staring down at his body.

"How the f- Where do they even go?!" He cried and ran up the stair towards Fairy Tail.

"Gray-sama…!" Juvia wailed and ran after him, her hands clasped together at her chest.

"So, what's up with you?" Natsu frowned up at Gajeel, "What's with all your piercings?"

" _Natsu_! Don't be rude." Erza glared at him and Gajeel scowled at the group.

"I dunno, I don't need to explain myself to you!" Gajeel retorted and Natsu leapt up.

"Hey, you wanna go?" Natsu snapped and Gajeel sneered down at him. "How 'bout a _Fire Dragon's Iron Fist_ to that dumb lookin' mug of yours!"

"Natsu! Quit it!" Lucy tugged on his bicep as he engulfed his fists in flames. "On second thought, why should I care?" She quickly released him so he could face his doom.

"Wait a second, an idiot like you uses dragon slayer magic?" Gajeel asked dubiously and Natsu glared up at him.

"Yeah, what of it? Wanna piece?"

"I'm a dragon slayer." Gajeel muttered and Natsu extinguished the flames on his fists.

"Huh? No way!" Natsu exclaimed, clearly not believing Gajeel.

"Yes, I am! My dad taught me!" Gajeel growled, his arms crossed over his chest defiantly. "Name was Metallicana, dunno why I'm tellin' you…" He grumbled and Natsu's eyes opened wide.

"Hey! I think Ign-" Natsu's response was cut off by the sound of thundering footsteps down the boys' stairs.

"Natsu!" Gray flung around the corner, still without clothes, and glared at the boy seated next to Lucy. "Did you eat all of my fucking poptarts again?!"

"Well, this was a nice chat, but I gotta go," Natsu shoved himself away from the bar and ran towards the girls' stairs. "Later, Luce!" He bid her farewell and sprinted up the stairs, Gray running after him.

"Aw man, that's the second time this week Gray's bought poptarts and Natsu has eaten them…" Happy pouted, "He didn't even share any with me!" He wailed and flew out after the boys. Lucy sighed and shook her head, a small smile on her lips.

"Those boys," Mira giggled and Erza scoffed.

"I'll have to teach them a lesson on manners and how to share…" She promised, her eyes darkening, and Lucy shuddered at the thought of one of Erza's 'lessons'.

"Who cares about poptarts, booze is where it's at!" Cana cheered holding up a fresh and frosty mug. "There's all different kinds of stuff to choose from, hell, you could probably get poptart flavored liquor!" Her cheeks were tinted pink from drinking and a smile plastered on her face.

"Thanks for dinner, Mira," Lucy smiled at the white-haired woman behind the bar. "I'm going to go check on Levy and then turn in for the night. Goodnight everyone!" Lucy waved to the group of girls, and Laxus, who had made his way behind the bar.

* * *

Lucy's walk to the infirmary was pleasant; the air was unusually warm for the beginning of November, so she didn't mind that she was in a skirt. Her check-in on Levy was short, the girl was in and out of sleep, but she seemed fine. Lucy was glad that she was safe thanks to Gajeel, she didn't want to imagine what would have happened if he had not been there. She pushed morbid thoughts out of her mind and walked back to their dorm. It was going to be lonely without Levy being there and Lucy hoped that she would soon be able to return to their cozy room. On her way back, she noticed Loke, on the quad, with a flock of girls around him. She waved his way and he blew a kiss back which Lucy returned with an eye roll and a snicker. Eventually she made her way into the old building, that most of her friends roomed in, and trudged her way up to her room. She needed a nice warm bath to unwind from the day, that would be her reward. She had a decent amount of work to do for the following week, but she was going to relax first. She like her and Levy's dorm room, they had decorated it in a way that represented both of them well. Books lined the shelves that they had put up, fluffy blankets thrown on both beds, and Lucy had pasted glow in the dark stars on the ceiling, and had strung fairy lights all around the room that gave it a soft and warm look. It certainly was a home away from Fairy Tail.

"Ah, it's so nice to be home," Lucy happily stepped inside. She noticed that their lights were on and she couldn't remember if she had forgotten to shut them off on her way out or not. She shrugged and kicked off her boots by the door, hanging up her jacket, and fixing her disheveled ponytail into a messy bun. "What a day, time to relax for a while- IN MY BEDROOM!?" Lucy screeched as she rounded the corner and saw Natsu lounging on her bed, scrolling through his phone, Happy curled up in one of her blankets.

"Geez, do you always come home and scream?" Natsu complained, his nose scrunched a bit in discomfort.

"Probably. She's weird." Happy offered and Natsu nodded seriously.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BEDROOM?!" Lucy yelped, her body pressed against the wall.

"Waiting for you..?" Natsu clicked his phone off and stated matter-of-factly.

"Wha- H-how did you even get in?" Lucy sputtered as her heart slowly made its way back down to a healthy rhythm.

"The window," Natsu gestured. "Obviously."

"That's not normal!" Lucy yelled and Natsu covered his ears, Happy groaning and throwing the blanket completely over himself.

"Lu- _cy_ …" Natsu whined and Lucy crossed her arms over her chest. "Your room is _so_ comfy…" Natsu snuggled into her bed next to Happy.

"Don't act so casual!" She exclaimed. She huffed when she got no response and finally put her backpack down. "Breaking and entering… I should sue…" She muttered and Natsu poked his head out from under the blankets, grinning at her. Her heart fluttered again- it was doing that far too much for her pleasure.

"Do ya wanna watch a movie with us?"

"Huh?" Lucy almost jumped at his question; how long had it been since she watched a movie with someone else? Being stuck inside her father's estate was lonely, her caretakers were always busy, and her father never would sit down and watch a movie with her. The last time she could actually remember watching a movie with some was with her mother… It was such a simple request, but Lucy felt her heart squeeze. "O-oh, okay. Sure, I'd like that." She smiled a bit and Natsu and Happy popped upright again, both cheering.

"That's great!" He praised, "Just don't let Gray know I'm here, gotta lay low for a little while…"

"I knew you had an ulterior motive!" She growled and Natsu grinned.

"Nah, that's just a bonus! We really just wanted to hang out with ya!" He beamed and Lucy felt a blush creeping across her cheeks, her heart hammering in her chest.

"F-fine!" She stammered, pulling out her laptop from her bag. "What would you guys want to watch?"


	11. Get Your Spook On Part 1

**A/N: Okay, so here's an important author's note from me! First off, thank you SO much for reading and leaving reviews! I'm so happy you all like it! Continue doing that please! Second, I have some people wanting/demanding that I should have longer chapters… I want to make it clear that I am 22, I am a senior in college (full-time) AND I have a job. I do this for free in between my busy schedule, so please please bear with me when it comes to chapter length! I write anywhere from 2k-4k+ for each chapter (that's anywhere from 9-15 plus pages in word), I'd say that's pretty long… So, I will continue to update as much as I can. Thank you for reading!**

 _Lucy's POV_

"I'm so bored…" Lucy groaned into her arms that were folded under her face on top of one of the tables in the guild. She had finished her midterms the previous week and Lucy was pleased with herself, she did better than she expected. She had also finished her work before the weekend came around so, there she sat, in the middle of the guild, doing nothing but complaining to her group of friends. Gray sat close by, Juvia not so inconspicuously hiding behind a pillar to watch him. Cana was hungover from the night before and was actually nursing a black coffee rather than her usual drink. Mira brought them over eggs, bacon, and French toast, with the help of Freed, and then sat down to eat with them. Levy was still unable to leave the infirmary, of course; she had fractured her leg in multiple areas and part of her hip. Lucy tried to visit often, but Porlyusica wanted her to rest more than anything. Gajeel had actually been stopping by almost as frequently as Lucy had, and was even offering to help Levy get any work that she missed, so Lucy was more than happy to have the help for her friend.

"Where's the idiot?" Gray questioned in a bored tone, referring to Natsu, and Cana winced as if Gray's voice was coming from a megaphone, and slipped her sunglasses over her eyes.

"Why, miss him?" Lucy teased and Gray scowled, pulling a disgusted face.

"No, I just figured that you would know since you're always spending so much time with him." Gray smirked and Lucy's face flared.

"I-I don't know where he is!" Lucy protested, glaring at Gray momentarily.

"Ooh! Are you and Natsu getting along well?" Mira piped up, eyeing her in intrigue.

"Yes, but we're _friends_. Don't you all get along well with everyone too?" Lucy pouted trying to ignore the blush on her cheeks and the pounding in her chest.

"Interesting…" Mira pondered and Lucy felt like she was on fire.

"Anyway, I have an idea." Erza suddenly announced and Lucy was thankful that all eyes were on the red-head instead. Juvia had made her way to the seat next to Gray, cramming herself in between his body and Erza's. "Since midterms and Levy's accident all happened around the same time, we all got a little backed up with things here at the guild." She explained and Lucy waited for her to continue. "Halloween was last week, it was on a school day of course, but we didn't get to celebrate it. It's only a little past it, but why don't we have a Halloween party this weekend?" Erza's eyes sparkled and Lucy's excitement spiked at the prospect of dressing up. She only ever dressed up in fancy dresses to meet her father's clients and their children, mainly their sons… She had never celebrated Halloween before.

"That sounds awesome!" Lucy exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "I've never done anything for Halloween before!"

"What? You haven't?" Gray almost gasp and Erza looked alarmed. "Well, now we definitely have to have one."

"Ugh, you guys are so loud… It's too early…" Cana whined.

"It is twelve in the afternoon." Erza deadpanned and Lucy bit her lip to fight off a smile. "But I agree with Gray, if Lucy has never celebrated Halloween, then we must show her how it's done!" Erza stated with determination.

"That sounds like a lovely idea!" Mira agreed and Erza smiled brightly.

"Then it's settled, we'll have one on Saturday! We can get it all planned and everything in one day, right Mira?"

"I think so! We can have everyone pitch in. It'll be a good old fashioned Fairy Tail party!" Mira cheered and Lucy felt a new wave of determination.

"You're in for a treat then, Lucy." Gray snickered and Lucy looked at him curiously. "Fairy Tail _isn't_ known for throwing bad parties."

"I'm excited! I can't wait!" Lucy smiled and the group let out small cheers of excitement.

"Yay…" Cana basically groaned into her coffee cup and Lucy slung an arm around her.

"Come on, you have to teach me _all_ about Fairy Tail, remember, _big_?" Lucy teased and Cana seemed to sober up a little more.

"I suppose _someone_ is going to have to teach you how to party."

"That's the spirit!"

* * *

Friday and early Saturday flew by; Lucy helped the others decorate the guild hall with Halloween decorations and letting all the guild members know about the party. They got fog lacrimas that were placed on the floor to make it look extra spooky, flickering lights were strung around the large room, Halloween themed food and drinks were prepared, and of course, costumes were figured out. Erza had leant Lucy one of her many costumes that she had; she had chosen to be a fairy princess as a sort of tribute to Fairy Tail taking her in. Lucy had gone to visit Levy in the infirmary and was pleased to find out that Porlyusica was going to allow her out for a few hours to enjoy the party, which Gajeel had said that he would help her get around to and from the guild.

After a rushed twenty-four hours of turning the guild into the perfect 'haunted mansion', as Erza had put it, it was time to get ready for the festivities. Lucy was excited to spend more time with her guild mates as well, she had obviously been focused on catching up with the work that she missed coming in late to the semester, that she hadn't really had a lot of quality time with everyone. Sure, she saw them in the evenings at the guild, but that was only for an hour or so before she headed back to her room with Levy. Levy was really the only one that she spent the most time with, and that was for obvious reasons.

"Lucy! How do I look?" Happy's voice suddenly broke through Lucy's thoughts, and she turned around to see the little blue cat flying towards her, only he was so much of a little blue cat any more, he was more of a little blue… "Fish! I'm a fish for the party!" He cheered and was practically drooling over himself over the thought of fish.

"You look adorable, Happy." Lucy giggled as he flew around showing off his costume. "Hey, actually now that I think about it, where is Natsu?" Lucy questioned. She hadn't seen him much since he broke into her room and she was starting to get a little concerned since he's usually causing some sort of mischief at the guild.

"Oh… He's coming! He's been so busy, but he'll be here tonight!" Happy replied and then began to fly off, "Bye Lucy, I gotta go! I'll see you later!" Lucy shook her head beginning to be suspicious of Natsu's absence.

"Lucy, come one!" Mira gestured for her to follow her and Erza to Fairy Girls. "Come get ready with us!" Lucy smiled widely and ran after them up the stairs. In Fairy Girls, it was bustling. Girls were all over getting in their costumes or helping each other with makeup. It was interesting to Lucy to see what everyone dressed up as: Mira was a demon, what her souls truly were, Erza was a rather sexy cat, Levy, who was in a wheelchair pushed by a Frankenstein looking Gajeel, was a mummy, Cana was a policewoman, Evergreen was a pixie, Bisca was a cowgirl, and even Juvia appeared in the foyer of Fairy Girls dressed as a mermaid. Mira and Erza helped Lucy get her fairy costume and makeup perfect; they used glitter body paint on her face and collarbones, and gave her sparkling pink wings. She wore a short, form-fitting purple dress with a sweetheart neckline, lace-up flats, and her hair was tied up in a perfect messy bun that Mira seemed to be a master at fixing up.

"Perfect!" Mira smiled, admiring their work that was Lucy. Lucy eyed herself in a full-length mirror in Erza's room and gasped.

"I look amazing!" Lucy exclaimed, "Thank you both so much!"

"You are very welcome." Erza smiled appreciatively as the trio headed back into the main lounge.

"Lucy! You look great!" Levy called from her chair, her leg propped up in front of her.

"Thank you," Lucy smiled and curtsied. "You look so cute, Lev!" She complimented. Levy looked adorable wrapped up as a little mummy, tattered bandages wrapping around her chest and forming a skirt and legging combo on her lower half. Her forearms were wrapped, as well, down to her finger tips.

"Why thank you! I figured if I'm already bandaged up, why not make it a costume?" Levy giggled and Gajeel scoffed behind her. " _I_ picked out his costume. Don't you think it fits?"

"Very." Lucy giggled and Gajeel scowled at her halfheartedly.

"Tch, as if I'm ever doin' this again… What a stupid party." He grumped and Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Gajeel, don't be a party pooper." Juvia scolded and Gajeel clamped his mouth shut. Lucy thought that Juvia and Gajeel's relationship was unique; she could tell that they both meant quite a deal to each other, and Lucy admired that.

"Yeah, don't be a party pooper!" Levy echoed and Gajeel grunted in response.

"Ready to get wasted?" Cana slung an arm over Lucy's shoulders, "Don't worry, Mama Cana will take good care of you!" She swung a pair of handcuffs around her finger dangerously.

"Take care of, kill- kinda sounds the same either way coming from you." Lucy giggled and Cana just shrugged.

"Okay everyone! We're going to go down now!" Erza informed the busy lounge and the girls squealed making Gajeel roll his eyes. "Everyone better appreciate what we all did or suffer the consequences…" Erza cracked her knuckles dangerously as she muttered the last part under her breath. Lucy followed the group of girls down the stairs, Levy was taken by Gajeel to an apparent elevator that Mira only just mentioned. Lucy felt excitement well inside of her. Even though it was in the first week of November, Lucy had never been more excited to celebrate Halloween. When they all filed into the guild hall, it was truly something to see, and Lucy felt a bit of pride for their handy work. Fog seeped along the floor, around their feet and tables. Strobe-type flickering lights played in toon with the loud and pulsing music that sounded throughout the large hall, and food lined each table, while drinks were lined up at the bar. Mira and Freed had outdone themselves in that department.

The boys made their way, eventually, down the opposing stairs; it was hard to see in the dimly lit room what everyone was dressed as, but Lucy managed to make out that Laxus was dressed as Pikachu. Lucy let out a snort of a laugh as he approached the group and greeted Mira with a chaste peck on the lips.

"Holy shit," Cana broke out into a fit of laughter, tears glistening in her violet eyes. "This is _so_ going on snapchat." She snapped a quick picture of Laxus scowling down at her and Mira smiling up at him.

"Isn't he just so cute?" Mira cooed and Laxus groaned.

"That's our… Tough and fearless leader...!" Evergreen cheered though she put a hand up to her mouth to cover a snicker.

"I think he looks just fine!" Freed popped up from behind the bar dressed as a pirate.

"'Course you do, heh." Bickslow teased, his tongue lolling out, and dressed as Venom from _Spiderman_. Lucy and the others left the Thunder Legion to discuss Laxus' looks as Pikachu, and Cana guided her to the bar which had several drinks that looked _convincingly_ like blood.

"C'mon, time to loosen up!" Cana shoved a tamer looking drink in her hands and Lucy quirked a brow at the brunette. "It's _just_ a margarita. Just a little bit of tequila to get the party started!"

"If you say so… But I don't want to be puking tomorrow! If I am, you're cleaning it up," Lucy warned and Cana snorted. She took an experimental sip of the clear drink, a little bat decoration sitting on the rim smiled up at her. It was surprisingly good, a little sweet, a little limey; for never having drank before, Lucy was finding herself enjoying it.

Lucy met up with Levy eventually as Gajeel guided her through the large group of Fairy Tail members; she made sure to thank Gajeel yet again for being such a help. Through the crowd, Lucy found herself scanning the bodies of her fellow guild mates searching. She saw Happy come in, but where was Natsu?

"Yo, Lucy!" A deep voice called and Lucy turned quicker than was conspicuous, her head spinning a little bit after having finished half her drink.

"Oh, hey Gray!" Lucy greeted him, trying to hide her disappointment. Not that she wasn't happy to see Gray, but he didn't make her heart flutter. "Er, what are you dressed as?"

"I'm Zorro! You know, _Don Diego de la Vega_ , en garde!" Gray spoke animatedly, jabbing a fake rapier into the air in front of him.

"I've never heard of it… But you're also only wearing an eye mask, cape, and holding that sword… So, it was kinda hard to guess." Lucy giggled as Gray gasped, a blush staining his cheeks.

"Wha-, no way! I just had the rest of it on like two seconds ago!"

"Don't worry, you still look fine." Lucy snorted and then her eyes shot open wide at the realization that she actually said that out loud.

"O-oh, thanks." Gray stammered out and smiled a bit, the blush on his face more pronounced.

"What are Gray-sama and Love Rival talking about?" Juvia suddenly burst between them and then gasped. "Your clothes, my love!"

"E-er, yeah, we've established that…" He looked embarrassedly down at his form. "I'm gonna go look for my costume…"

"Juvia will help too!"

"Okay, okay…" Gray sighed and trudged off and Lucy giggled. Juvia was an interesting girl and Lucy hoped that she would realize, sooner rather than later, that she was not her _love rival_.

"I'm really glad she didn't hear what I said to Gray…" Lucy mumbled to herself. "No more alcohol for me…"

"Glad who didn't hear what?" Came a raspy voice making Lucy nearly jump out of her skin. "Yo, Luce!" Lucy spun around quickly to see Natsu standing before her. Her heartbeat hammered in her chest, she had not been expecting an answer to her question, and she _certainly_ didn't want to explain to Natsu what she meant.  
"Natsu!" She gasped slightly, her right hand over her fluttering heart. "I-I like your costume!" Lucy squeaked out.

"Thanks! I'm a ninja!" He exclaimed and then pulled his scarf over his mouth and nose, clasped his hands together, forefingers pointed towards the ceiling, " _Nin, nin_!" Lucy let out a laugh and Natsu pulled his scarf back down to reveal his grin.

"What's your costume? A fairy or somethin'?"

"Fairy _princess_ , thank you very much!" Lucy pointed to the gold tiara clipped into her hair.

"Huh," Natsu eyed her costume, "That's cute!" He grinned and poked at one of her wings.

"U-um, th-thanks…" Lucy stammered out, her cheeks felt like they were on fire, and her heart fluttered, yet again, against her ribs. "O-oh, hey! Where have you been the past day or so?"

"Oh… Heh, that…" Natsu rubbed the back of his neck, only seeming embarrassed by her question and not the fact that he had just indirectly said that she was _cute_. "Well, you see, you know midterms?"

"…Yes."

"Well… I didn't do so hot on some of them, so I had to do some extra work to kinda make up for them…" Natsu let out a nervous giggle and Lucy frowned.

"But we stayed up so late studying for them! I helped you that _whole_ week!" Lucy protested and Natsu avoided her gaze.

"I did fine on my magic and combat exams… It's just the English and some other crap that I don't understand too much. Man, I hate that for our first year we need to take all these crappy classes!" He complained referring to the core academic classes.

"They want you to be well rounded," Lucy pointed out. "But it's okay, if you need help with English, I'm your girl!" Lucy chuckled, pointing a finger at herself.

"Thanks Luce!" He grinned down at her and then placed a hand over his stomach and almost keeled over. "I'm _starving_! I haven't eaten since this morning, ugh…"

"Well, come on! We prepared some really tasty treats for tonight!" Lucy laughed and guided him over to one of the tables. "Look at how cute these are! These are meatballs-" Before Lucy could finish, Natsu was shoving them into his mouth without even looking at them. "… That are wrapped in crescent dough with mustard eye dots… They're supposed to be mummies and you're supposed to appreciate how cute they are!"

"They're just food," Natsu replied around a mouthful of meatball and Lucy crossed her arms over her chest and pouted, one hand still clinging to her margarita. "Er, but yeah, they're _totally_ cute." He snorted and Lucy smiled a bit.

"Good. We also have these pizza bagels where the cheese looks like ghosts…" Lucy pointed out, but it was a lost cause since Natsu was stuffing his face. Lucy just shook her head and watched him, occasionally sipping her drink which she was eager to finish so she didn't have to hold her cup anymore. She wasn't drunk, but she felt a little dizzy. She didn't really want to drink anymore, she certainly didn't want to make a complete fool out of herself at the first party she participated in in Fairy Tail. So, she had a plan to just avoid Cana because they older girl was certainly going to try and push more drinks on her.

Lucy had stopped paying attention to Natsu only for a few moments, but he seemed to have disappeared. A few moments later, he returned from the bar carrying a shot glass that was billowing flames from its contents.

"Whoa, what the-?" Lucy eyed it and Natsu laughed maniacally.

" _Fiyah_!" He cried and downed the shot, _and_ the fire, in one gulp.

" _Did you just eat the fire too_?!" Lucy basically screamed and Natsu eyed her weirdly.

"Duh," He snorted matter-of-factly, "I love eating fire!"

"How? How can you do that?"

"I'm a _fire_ dragon slayer! It's like eating a yummy snack!" He rubbed his belly happily and Lucy shook her head, a small smile on her lips.

"You are so stra- _oof_!" Lucy was shoved from behind, her cup, thankfully empty, clattering to the floor. She flung forward, straight into Natsu, and he instinctively caught her, his arm wrapping around her as she fell flush against him. "H-huh?"

"Hey, watch where you're goin, ya bastard!" Natsu barked over her head. Lucy couldn't turn to see who he was talking to because his arm was still wrapped tightly around her pressing her to his chest.

"It ain't my fault!" Came Gajeel's angry sounding voice, "That dipshit shoved into me- oi! I'm pushing a crip' here!"

"I'm not crippled you ass!" Came Levy's voice, shrill over the sound of the music.

"I didn't mean it, I tripped!" Gray retorted from somewhere behind Gajeel.

"You guys tryna start somethin'?!" Natsu growled and Lucy rolled her eyes, she was getting slightly tired of Natsu shouting basically in her ear. She squirmed a bit in his arms and eyed Natsu's face; he was glaring over her head at the two boys that she couldn't see.

"H-hey," She began and his gaze snapped down to her, seeming surprised that she was still there. His face softened and he flashed a small smile down at her.

"Hey." He replied and Lucy's heart fluttered. She was caught up in their proximity that she forgot what she was going to say for a moment.

"E-er…" Lucy stammered and Natsu quirked a brow at her. "C-can I be released, Mr. Ninja?" She giggled and Natsu's eyebrows shot up as if he, too, only just realized how close they were.

"Oh shit, sorry Luce!" He released her and she immediately missed the warmth of his body. "Hey, you guys wanna go?!"

"Oh, for goodness' sake…" Lucy sighed and watched the three boys start to scuffle around the guild hall.

"He's barely been in the guild for three days and he's already just as stupid as the others." Levy scoffed from her wheelchair that Gajeel had _safely_ parked next to Lucy. She giggled and sat down next to Levy at the table that she and Natsu had been at.

" _So_ ," Lucy began and shot a sly smile over at Levy. "How are _you_?"

"You sound suspicious…" Levy replied skeptically. "I'm good."

"Oh, good, good." Lucy nodded and smiled. "So, about you and Gajeel-"

"Oh no, don't start sounding like Mira!" Levy cried and Lucy giggle; she could have sworn that Levy was blushing, but it was hard to see in the dimly lit hall. "He is helping me just fine. I think he feels a bit guilty he couldn't pull me out of the way completely."

"I'm just glad he was there," Lucy said solemnly. "I still can't believe someone hit you with their car! Gajeel seems like a good guy though. Around his gruff exterior." Lucy giggled again and Levy snorted out a laugh.

"Yeah, he is." She smiled over to where Gajeel was throwing punches with Gray and Natsu, her eyes glistening happily. "So, you and Natsu, eh?"

"Natsu and I what?" Lucy questioned, avoiding Levy's gaze and the heat on her face.

"Did you _see_ yourself with him just a minute ago?!" Levy scoffed and Lucy rolled her eyes. "You two were like, canoodling." Lucy snorted as she laughed at the ridiculousness of what Levy was saying.

" _Shut up_ , he stopped me from falling forward because _your_ boyfriend knocked into me!"

"Hey, _you_ shut up!" Levy flailed a hand at Lucy and she easily dodged it. "You know that's not true! And he wouldn't have bumped into you if _your_ boyfriend number two didn't trip into him."

"Wah! _Who's_ sounding like Mira now? Don't pair me with a bunch of people!" Lucy protested and Levy let out a loud laugh and Lucy sighed. "I miss you."

"I miss you too, Lu. I hope I can get out of the infirmary soon." Levy pouted a bit. "But until then, why don't ya wheel me to the dancefloor so we can go join the other girls?" Levy beamed up at Lucy and she jumped up excitedly.

"Let's go!"

 **Bonus A/N: Oh! Totally forgot to mention that the party is not over, this is just part one of their Halloween escapades ;)**


	12. Get Your Spook On Part 2

**A/N: Oh man, I totally meant to have this up before HALLOWEEN! School and the holidays got the best of me, so please forgive me! I really hope you guys like this! Please, please leave a review and spread the word about my story!**

Lucy and Levy had joined the other girls on the dancefloor; of course, Levy couldn't really _dance_ , but it was the experience that counted. Erza, Cana, and Mira seemed to be having a great time from what Lucy observed; Mira was shoving shots in Erza and Cana's hands all while dancing with Laxus. She was quite the multitasker. Cana was clearly on her way to being blackout drunk, and Lucy assumed that she had drank _a lot_ to get to the point where she was, considering that it took a lot for her to get completely wasted. Lucy grabbed Levy's hands and swayed to the music, dancing with Levy, and giggling madly.

"I only know how to ballroom dance," Lucy admitted with a snort and Levy grinned up at her. "So, if we ever have a ball, I'll be the _bell_." She winked and Levy laughed.

"I'll be sure to have Erza set one up! But you're doing great, Lu!" She smiled up at her and Lucy giggled. Suddenly, Lucy felt an arm being slung around her, her hands breaking free from Levy's, and that said arm's hand was groping her right breast.

"Cana…" Lucy protested. The smell of alcohol wafted around her, mixed with Cana's lavender scented shampoo.

"What?" Cana drawled out and Lucy gently shrugged out of her friend's grasp. "I can't help it, you're just so cute, heh." Cana snickered and Lucy felt a blush creep onto her cheeks.

"Well, _thank you_ ," Lucy addressed her compliment and Cana nodded her head. "How are you doing?"

"Well," Cana began taking another sip of the beer that she was holding. "I've been drinkin'!"

"I can see that…" Lucy laughed and Levy rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Cana, have you had enough yet?" Levy asked and Cana scoffed.

"Hell no! Mira made some more drinkies that I wanna try." Cana shoved her thumb over her shoulder towards the bar that was neatly lined with fresh drinks. "And Loke is lookin' pretty sexy over there, so I'm gonna go talk to him at some point."

" _Okay_ , you totally have had enough!" Lucy yelped and eyed Loke who was, appropriately, dressed as a lion.

"Hey! Loke!" Levy called, in contrast to Lucy's protests, and the ginger haired player sauntered over. "Cana has-" Lucy flung herself over at Levy, clamping a hand over her mouth; that was one encounter she did _not_ want to deal with.

"Yes, ladies?" Loke smirked and Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Loke, you're lookin' like a sessy lil thang." Cana winked and Lucy inwardly groaned.

"Oh my god…" Lucy sharply inhaled and released Levy to push Cana towards the bar. "Hey, why _don't_ you go try some of those new drinks over there? Mira, please!" Lucy hissed to the white-haired woman who nodded and pulled Cana towards her.

 _"Lucy_ come drink with _me_." Cana whined and Lucy sighed.

"Maybe later!" Lucy fake promised, but it seemed to satisfy Cana for the time being. "Loke, don't cause trouble." She glared at the spirit and he looked at her incredulously.

"I didn't even do anything! Levy called me over. Which, speaking of, you two look _beautiful_. Did you want to admire my costume, my dear Levy?" Loke stuck a pose to which Levy snorted out a loud laugh. Just then, Gajeel reappeared behind Levy, looking a bit disheveled from his fight with Gray and Natsu, but unscathed nonetheless.

"Oi, what's goin' on over here?" Gajeel grunted and Levy looked up at him. "The hell are ya doin', kitty boy?" Gajeel snorted and Loke sobered up, a cocky smirk on his lips.

"Just showing off for the ladies, they called me over to see my moves no doubt." Loke bragged and Lucy sighed, shaking her head.

"And yet it feels like harassment." She squinted at him and Loke feigned hurt, clutching a hand to his chest. "I'm going to call up Aries." Lucy warned and Loke's face turned grim and uncomfortable. Lucy wouldn't voice it in front of everyone, but she had a sneaking suspicion that he had a little bit of a crush on the pink haired zodiac spirit.

"Well, I'll be off then." Loke nodded to them curtly and found his way back to the group of girls he had been talking to.

"Hey, shortie, we gotta get goin', it's already almost midnight an' the old woman's gonna start yellin' if we don't get ya back before then." Gajeel warned Levy and she sighed.

"Ah, it's just like I'm Cinderella…" She smiled sarcastically and Lucy gave her a sympathetic look. "I hope I can come back to the dorm soon." She pouted and Lucy squeezed her hand.

"Don't worry! You will; besides, it's not as fun without you, so I won't be doing anything too interesting!" Levy gave a small smile and then Gajeel wheeled her away, Lucy thanking him once again for taking such good care of her. Lucy thought that he was feeling a little bit guiltier than he should; after all, he _did_ save her life. Lucy bravely made her way over to where Erza was chatting with Mira and Cana, apprehension prickling down her spine.

"Lucy!" Mira cheered and she gave her a smile. "Where have _you_ been, hm? I saw you chatting with Loke, how are you two?" Lucy instantly regretted joining the girls. Her eye twitched slightly and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Loke was being a nuisance so I sent him back to his harem. And I have been right over there, for a while, with Levy. She had to go because it's almost midnight." Lucy informed them and Mira pouted.

"My poor baby Levy…"

"She's in good hands. Gajeel took her back." Lucy smiled softly and Erza piped up after slamming her cup onto the bar's countertop.

"He better treat her right! She's a special girl and if he's going to deflower h-"

"Oh my _god_ , that is _not_ what they are doing!" Lucy practically screeched and Mira's eyes bugged out. "He's taking her to the infirmary! _For the love of_ -"

"Jealous, Lucy?" Cana snickered into her ear, "Don' worry! Cana's gonna take care of ya! Where's Natsu or Gray! Let's get Lucy some di-"

" _OH, MY GOD_!" Lucy shrieked and leapt at Cana clamping a hand over her mouth. Erza and Mira laughed like mad, and Cana's hot breath made her hand clammy. The loud music and pulsing lights mixed with the alcohol in her blood was making her lightheaded. "Please, let's stop…" Lucy pleaded.

"Gray-sama is mine!" Juvia sobbed, appearing from behind Erza, her face flushed from alcohol and crying. " _Gray-sama_ …" Lucy groaned and Mira clasped her hands over her chest.

"Oh! Lucy has not one, but _three_ possible boys that are interested in her! How _interesting_." Mira tapped her chin in thought and Laxus kissed the top of her head as if to commend her scheming.

"Th-that's not true! There isn't even one!" Lucy disputed, but Mira didn't seem to hear her over the music, or she just didn't care about Lucy's protests.

" _Love rival_!" Juvia hissed over at her and Lucy ground her teeth together.

"If any of them lay one finger on you-!" Erza warned, materializing one of her words and swinging it around dangerously. While she appreciated Erza's protectiveness and Mira's interest in her life, Lucy was becoming exhausted.

"I have an idea!" Cana slurred out excitedly, "Why don't you have all three of em'? Oh, I could join you!"

"I am definitely out of here!" Lucy breathed out and quickly made her escape to a bench on the outskirts of her guild mates. She felt hot, despite the weather outside becoming colder. She found one of the pitchers of ice water on the table, pouring herself a glass. She was happy that she wasn't in heels otherwise she was sure to have been in pain from being on her feet so long; Erza's flats were fairly comfortable. Lucy took the opportunity to glance around the guild hall; Fairy Tail was in full party swing with no signs of stopping any time soon. She was feeling tired, but didn't want to leave just yet, she was having a good time besides the drunken jabbing that her friends were throwing at her. She observed Juvia, who was now sobbing on Erza's shoulder, halfway made of water. Erza consoled her and was angrily _vowing_ to more than likely castrate Gray for making her cry. Lucy idly wondered how Mira got Laxus to wear the Pikachu suit, and her mind wandered to unholy places of what Mira could have possibly _promised_ the man. Her face burned as she desperately shoved the intrusive thoughts out of her brain. She hadn't seen Happy since the beginning of the party, but she was sure that he was off eating fish somewhere, looking perfectly like a cannibal.

Lucy brushed a few stray hairs out of her face and looked on happily at her guild mates. It was a great first party and first Halloween for her; she didn't expect any less from Fairy Tail. She suddenly felt lonely sitting by herself at the bench; it was like she was watching all of her friends from behind a pane of glass. Of course, the thought was ridiculous, they were all right there, but Lucy figured that the alcohol was making her slightly emotional. Pouting down into her cup of water, Lucy scanned the room once again, noting that Alzack and Bisca were _awfully_ close for being _just friends_. Evergreen was cozying up to Elfman, who was dressed as a type of beast which Lucy thought was totally _not_ original considering he could literally turn into something of the sorts. Gray had joined Erza, Mira, and Juvia at the bar, which was a poor choice, since Erza leapt up from her seat, threatening him with her sword, and Juvia simultaneously wrapped herself around him. He still only had a mask and cape on, actually having lost the rapier he had once been holding. Everyone in the guild seemed to enjoy liquor quite a bit considering almost everyone had a cup in their hand and were acting fairly out of sorts. Lucy didn't want to be full on drunk, and considering _one_ drink had her head spinning, she had a long way to go before she could keep up with the Fairy Tail crowd.

"What are ya doin' over here for?" A voice startled her from her thoughts and her eyes snapped up to see the owner.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed a little more excitedly than she would have liked, her heart hammering behind her ribs. His hair looked a little more disheveled than normal, and he had opted to taking off the top half of his ninja gear, only donning a form fitting black tank top and his usual scarf. "O-oh, I just wanted a break for a bit." She admitted as he took the seat next to her, leaning back, and propping himself up on his elbows, back resting against the table.

"Too much for ya?" He snickered and shot her a cocky grin.

"No!" She protested and crossed her arms. "No, I was just with Erza, Mira, and Cana after Levy left, and-"

"Got it." He waved a hand in the air in front of him and nodded. "I know how they are when they're drunk." He shuddered and Lucy wondered what kind of past he had with the three women when it came to drinking.

"Either way, I don't really drink much, er, at all really. So, I guess I just needed some sort of break." Lucy laughed lightly and he snorted out a laugh.

"From your _one_ drink?"

"It was strong!" Lucy defended and he rolled his eyes jokingly. "I'm _sure_ Mira made them extra strong."

"Light weight," He teased and Lucy pouted. "I'm kiddin' anyways. I don't care much for drinking. Don't do it too much."

"What? I totally saw you throwing back shots and stuff- come to think of it, why _aren't_ you drunk fighting with Gray again?" Lucy asked incredulously and Natsu laughed a bit, showing off his sharp canines.

"'Cause I ain't drunk." He stated simply and Lucy suspected he wasn't fully human if he could drink that much and _not_ be drunk.

"W-what do you mean? How can you not be drunk?!" Lucy spluttered, feeling ridiculously insecure about her tipsiness after one margarita.

"It's magic," He explained and Lucy snorted in derision at his absurdity. "I'm serious! I'm a _fire_ dragon slayer, I'm hot." Lucy nearly choked on her water and he eyed her as if she had two heads.

"W-what do you mean exactly?"

"I have a higher body temperature than normal people, so my body burns the alcohol out pretty quickly. If I really wanted to get drunk, I'd probably have to drink a shit ton of alcohol consistently." He clarified, running a hand through his spiky pink hair.

"I-I see…" Lucy drew in breaths to stop her heart from fluttering. She was thoroughly embarrassed by her reaction. They sat in a few moments of 'silence', the music still blaring around them, and the shouts of their guild mates sounding. "So… Where's Happy?"

"I sent him off home, he was a little upset." Natsu explained, amusement lacing his words. "He was missing Carla after seein' so many people dancin' together." Lucy's face flushed as she realized _just_ how many of their friends were getting _comfortable_ with each other.

"Er, who's Carla?" She questioned, driving the conversation away from their paired off friends.

"She's our friend Wendy's flying cat buddy," Natsu chuckled and Lucy nodded her head.

"Right, Wendy is the one who is still in high school, right?"

"Yup. Hey, you should totally meet her some time! She's a dragon slayer too." Natsu informed her and Lucy's eyes widened.

"Really? I heard dragon slayers are rare, that's so cool that she is one!" Lucy exclaimed and Natsu pouted slightly at her.

"Geez, you were never that excited when you found out that _I_ was a dragon slayer." Lucy stifled a giggle at his childishness and patted his arm in comfort.

"I'm sorry, Natsu." Lucy stifled a snicker as Natsu pouted slightly. "What's it like having dragon slayer magic?" Lucy asked. She had been curious before, but had never really asked him about it, but the alcohol was making her talkative.

"Hm," Natsu tipped his head to the side in thought, looking up at the ceiling. "I guess I never really thought of it too much, but it's pretty cool." He grinned at her and Lucy smirked, rolling her eyes.

"That's not much of an answer."

"Well, it _is_ cool. My dad taught it to me." Natsu informed her, a wistful look in his eyes.

"What was your dad like?" She asked softly. It was obvious that his father had passed, all of Fairy Tail were unfortunately orphans, so she never really prompted anyone about their parents.

"He was a dragon." The answer sounded so simple, yet Lucy found herself choking on her water once again.

"D-did you say _dragon_?" Lucy was sure her eyes were bugging out of her head.

"Uh, yeah…" Natsu responded, looking at _her_ like she was the one who sounded ridiculous. "He was cool. 'Course he wasn't my _real_ dad, but he was my first adoptive father." Natsu explained and Lucy nodded her head in thought.

"I didn't know that dragons could, er, raise children." Lucy replied awkwardly. "B-but he sounds like a great dad."

"He was. Taught me everything I know about dragon slayer magic." Natsu smiled, "I actually think that Igneel, my dad, and Gajeel's dad were friends. Both dragons; Wendy's mom was a dragon as well."

"W-what happened to them? O-oh, I'm sorry… You don't need to say if you don't want to. I'm sure it's a difficult subject." Lucy apologized; her talkativeness was proving to be no good.

"Nah, it's alright. I don't really know what happened to them honestly. It seems as though on July 7th, 777, all three of our parents disappeared. They just… were gone." He finished quietly and Lucy swallowed hard.

"I-I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be," Natsu turned to her, his familiar toothy grin beaming over at her. "Obviously there was a reason Igneel left, I gotta respect that. 'Sides, Gramps found me not too long after, and I never woulda never ended up in Fairy Tail… So, what about you? What were your parents like?" Natsu prompted.

"Well, my mom was great… She taught me all about the constellations and about celestial magic…" Lucy smiled, the past overwhelming her in the moment. "She passed away in 777, due to a magical deficiency disease… So, I guess we both lost someone important to us then." Lucy sighed and Natsu sat quietly for a moment. "My dad, as you may have heard, passed away a few months ago. He was a successful businessman… He was very protective, controlling I suppose, but he was good deep down." Lucy didn't know that she had teared up until she felt Natsu's thumb brush over her cheek.

"They're still with ya," Natsu smiled softly and Lucy's cheeks flushed, "Just like Igneel is with me."

"Thank you, Natsu. Really, i-it's nice to talk to someone once in a while." Lucy admitted and Natsu cracked a broad smile making Lucy giggle.

"Anything for ya, Luce." Lucy's heart fluttered at his words. She was glad that the lighting was dim otherwise she was sure Natsu would see her burning red cheeks.

"Yo, did Natsu already make you cry?" Gray's voice interrupted their bubble of conversation. He eyed Natsu suspiciously, a slight smirk on his face. "Natsu, how many times do I need to tell you, you don't make a girl cry when flirting with her." Gray's words seemed to set Lucy on fire; she felt like she was burning under her costume.

"What the hell? No way! Mind your own damn business!" Natsu snapped, leaping up from his seat next to her, and Gray snickered.

"Th-that's not it!" Lucy protested and Gray took a step back.

"Heh, I was just kiddin', no need to get so defensive, flame-brain."

"Go mind your own damn business, ya pervert…" Natsu growled out again, his ears looking like they were red.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help out a poor, lost soul." Gray loudly whispered as if Lucy couldn't hear him. She ignored their interaction, desperately trying not to spontaneously combust.

"Would ya get the hell out of here?!" Natsu hissed through gritted teeth and Lucy felt the need to try and diffuse the tension.

"M-maybe we could go request a song to be played? Wasn't Erza in charge of DJ-ing?" She interjected quickly.

"Oh, good idea," Gray piped up, taking a swig of whatever drink he had in his red plastic cup, "I want to put on a really sad song and make everyone feel like there's nothing left." And with that, the shirtless ice mage, sauntered off.

"Pleasant."


End file.
